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SOC3101 : Alternatives to Criminal Justice
- Inactive for Year: 2026/27
- Module Leader(s): Dr Karenza Moore
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: 缅北禁地 City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module equips students with a thorough critical understanding of alternatives to criminal justice which is theoretically informed and rooted in their evaluation of available research evidence. The aim is to cover the full range of both current and proposed alternatives to criminal justice, from non-reformist reform to gradualist reform to total abolitionism. The module will enable students to think about alternatives to criminal justice and social change both in terms of scale, from local to international; fields, such as Policing, Prisons, and Public Health; and sectors such as digital technologies. Students will explore the interactions between these theories of harm and punishment, and empirical data on the impacts of carceral and non-carceral approaches, and their impact on criminal justice in the English legal system, while drawing from case studies of alternate legal approaches such as those adopted in countries such as Norway, and Portugal.
Outline Of Syllabus
Students will cover a range of issues which may include (indicative topics dependent upon student interest and staff availability):
Criminal justice systems and processes (brief review)
Why not criminal justice? (brief review)
Historical and structural criminal in/justices
Persecuted populations and epistemic in/justices
The carceral state and carceral feminism
What is Abolitionism? Theory and social action
From non-reformist reform to total abolitionism
Restorative justice
Transformative justice
Community-based alternatives
Case studies each year, students will have the opportunity to engage in case studies on topics such as public health diversion schemes, truth and reconciliation processes; radical democracy and self governance initiatives; and alternatives in relation to cyber-deviance and hacktivism, criminal damage, crimes of violence etc.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | PIP Lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 66:00 | 66:00 | Writing up assessment (debate statement, essay) |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 100:00 | 100:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 8 | 3:00 | 24:00 | PIP teaching and discussion workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | assessment preparation workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Podcasts (4 hours) Students choose four hours of podcasts (from a selection of 12) to listen to, and to discuss in Workshops with peers |
| Total | 202:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures introduce students to fundamental concepts and frameworks covered in the module in order to help them
understand the set and recommended readings.
Workshops will encourage students to explore their developing understanding of alternatives to criminal justice and to discuss how this understanding might be applied to analyses of specific cases and examples. They include 'mini-lectures' and small group discussions.
Students will be encouraged to listen to four hours of a choice of podcasts that they will then reflect on in class through peer engagement.
The guided independent study will involve each student reading, listening, watching and reflecting for the
forthcoming seminars, developing their own skills and preparing for the assessment.
Two Assessment Support Workshops will give students time to discuss and prepare for their essay and debate statement
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 20 | 500 word debate statement |
| Essay | 1 | A | 80 | 2000 word essay |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
As part of their assessment, students will produce a 500-word debate statement outlining a key debate in relation to current or proposed alternatives to criminal justice. The essay will allow the students to engage with contemporary and critical debates in criminal justice demonstrating their ability to develop a coherent and logical argument supporting a deeper engagement with and synthesis of literature and independent critique
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: