English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, and particularly the verb tense system in English, because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when you come to write essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practise each skill and practise it again, so that gradually you will see, hear and feel that your command of the language is improving. 

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practise strategies to help you gain confidence in your own ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including for instance guessing meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognising differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will  be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate level study. 

All of the academic skills are practised in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practise and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increasing your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1. 

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will  now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices which enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy. 

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you are able to work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learnt and practised in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesising, argumentation, critical thinking and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others and practise and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field. 

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area, and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of in both essays and presentations and in seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.

Policing And Society

The unit provides students with an understanding of the complex relationships the Police service has with the public and other agencies within the Policing family and wider criminal justice system. Fundamentally this unit underlines the role of the police in maintaining public trust and confidence in order to support policing by consent. There are three constituent parts:

• Role of the Police organisation and Police Officers within society
• The police structure and where it sits within the Criminal Justice System
• Expected professional and ethical behaviours of Police Officers to maintain trust, confidence and Policing by Consent.

The unit commences with discussions over what the public and government currently expect of the Police and how this has changed since the development of the ‘new’ police in 1829. Many changes to crime and society and the Criminal Justice System have led to changes in the structure and role of the police and students will gain an insight into those changes.

The unit will explore the Criminal Justice system as a whole and how it attempts to protect the public and punish those guilty of committing crimes whilst also seeking to deter and rehabilitate. Students will understand the crime process from the processes of finding out crime or disorder has occurred to the investigation process, the judicial system and finally a more grounded understanding of the many things the police do. This will also include how police forces are monitored and assessed by the HMICFRS and the IOPC.

Finally, the unit will focus on professional behaviours expected of Police Officers and what happens when those professional behaviours are not met. Students will learn from an early stage that ethical decision making and behaviours are core concepts that need to be applied to learning and assessments throughout the whole degree. Understanding the role of the Police and wider criminal justice system will also help you to understand police responses and limitations within other modules such as Criminal Legislation and Police Powers, Community Policing and Evidence based Policing.

Introduction To Criminal Legistlation And Police Powers

The unit provides students with an appreciation of core police powers and legislation in order for them to respond to incidents in a professional, lawful and ethical way. The unit is law focussed and learning involved in this unit can be understood in the following areas of policing that frontline officers may use on a daily basis;

• Core criminal offences
• Powers relating to making an arrest
• Powers relating searching people and premises

A good knowledge of criminal legislation is crucial for police officers, whether dealing with an incident or investigating them after the event. There are core offences that officers use on a frequent basis and many of these will be covered in this unit. Students will be expected to be able to apply the relevant laws to case studies and other examples and be able to consider which offence may have been committed.
Taking away a person’s liberty by arresting and detaining them is one of fundamental importance to how a state should treat its citizens and other visitors. Arrest figures have been falling in recent, partly due to changes in the bail system and many people will attend police stations voluntarily and by appointment. Students will learn how and when to make an arrest and what conditions should occur for it to be lawful and compliant with the Human Rights Act. They will also be expected to learn and correctly apply the ‘caution’.
This unit also develops an awareness of stop and search and also searching vehicles and premises lawfully. Stop and search has been a controversial topic for many years and this unit considers the development of ‘sus laws’ under the Vagrancy Act 1824 and why this helped develop the ‘reasonable grounds’ in The Police and criminal Evidence Act 1984. Whilst recent calls for more Stop and searches to help combat a rise in violent and knife crime incidents across England and Wales, counter arguments question that Stop and search is a viable tactic for prevention and detection of offences. Students will learn how to correctly apply legislation and guidance to conduct a search. Furthermore, students will also develop knowledge of what powers police have to enter and search premises.

Learning from this unit will be used throughout your time on the course, especially where lawful use of arrest and search powers are required such as Roads Policing, Responding to Incidents, Community Policing and Contemporary Issues in Policing.

Developing Academic Skills

Constructive oral and written communication, and the effective and ethical management and presentation of knowledge and information, are essential for both academic work at degree level and your professional practice. This unit will enable you to develop your understanding of the skills and conventions of academic study in higher education and within your discipline and recognise their transferability to and relevance for your work with service users and professional colleagues. You will be encouraged to identify your own academic strengths, areas for development, and strategies to support your academic growth.

By the end of the unit the students will have gained an understanding of key academic skills such as assessment planning, how to effectively use BREO, searching for and sourcing academic material, learning to reference and how to construct essays, presentations and consideration of the differences between academic work and professional report writing.

Introduction To Research And Decision Making

What research and decision-making skills will future police officers and other people working in the Criminal Justice system need if they are going to take an Evidence based approach to tackling crime and promoting Public safety? As policing is moving towards evidence-based approaches expectations to deliver this model of policing research is being expected. This means forces are starting to conduct their own research projects and evaluations of strategies aimed at reducing crime and disorder, the fear of crime and ways to improve public protection and satisfaction.

The unit prepares Police students for degree level research and decision-making skills within a police and criminal justice context. The unit aims to promote your understanding of how and why we carry out research in and about ‘society’, crime/justice and seeks to introduce you to some of the methodological debates which inform and underpin social investigation and to link those debates to different approaches in social/policing research.

Whilst studying the above topics you will be developing your academic writing skills, learning how to construct your written work and learn how to source and correctly reference relevant research/academic material such as; journal articles, policy papers, official statistics and books. You will gain knowledge in research skills and gain an understanding of research methodologies and their underpinning philosophical assumptions. All of these are skills that will be essential for your academic career and especially pertinent to the level 5 evidence based policing unit and the level 6 independent study where you will build on your learning from this unit.

Complexities And Contradictions In Offender Management, Victim Support And Public Protection

The unit allows students to develop their knowledge of some key issues relating to the discipline of criminology. It is anticipated that most students will be new to this discipline and an overview of some key theories will be considered relating to the many ways that crime can be viewed.

However, students will consider some of the practical steps taken by the police, their partners and wider criminal justice system. This may be looking at policy, police actions and interventions to how they attempt to manage or meet the needs of a wide set of stakeholders.

The core learning areas of this unit will be used throughout your 3 years studying on the Degree in Professional Policing. Particularly this unit will link to year 2 (Level 5) units on Evidence Based Policing and Crime Prevention and Community Policing. At year 3 (Level 6) more specialist learning regarding vulnerability and contextual safeguarding will again use learning from this unit in more depth.

If the police are going to prevent, investigate and detect crime, then officers and investigators need to develop an awareness of why they do what they do and be able to recognise that some responses are problematic.

Responding To Incidents

The unit explores the unpredictable nature of reactive or response policing. Students will develop an understanding of approaches to managing a variety of issues within different settings. It builds on legislation learnt during the 1st year unit Introduction to Criminal Legislation and Police Powers, ethical decision making and public protection and victim care.

A response officer needs the knowledge and skills to assess situations, protect and preserve life, diffuse conflict, contain and preserve evidence, correctly apply the law and support victims and witnesses among other attributes. If you are being directed to an incident you may well have an initial idea of what you will be attending. However, sometimes situations change rapidly and the seriousness of the incident can escalate requiring officers to reassess and adapt. Officers may well happen upon an incident as part of their patrol duties. Whatever the situation response officers will have to consider the most effective way of resolving the incident if possible. You will learn how to assess incidents and decide on actions and further support you may need.

This unit will cover some of the main types of incidents that officers may cover including major and critical incidents. Often incidents may involve other emergency services including paramedics and the fire and rescue services and officers attending will need to consider protocols and policy in relation to the function of each body. Furthermore, officers will need to accurately record details, so that an early investigation and scene and evidence preservation is considered. Learning from this unit will also help you to understand major and critical incidents that you will explore in more depth at level 6.

Criminal Legislation And Investigations

The unit looks specifically at Criminal Investigations and the issues surrounding and shaping them. Many organisations have staff who investigate a variety of incidents and the police service has investigatory roles conducted by non-warranted or civilian staff.

Criminal Investigation is a core police function in an attempt to locate the truth about an incident. Investigations may take different forms with some requiring a major Investigations team looking at a past incident, whilst some take a proactive stance in order to prevent crime that is about to be committed. Cold case review teams will specifically review historic cases and attempt to locate a suspect or new line of enquiry that may lead to the suspect. These investigations may be through the development of scientific advances or through applying thorough and critical approaches to reframe the case.

This unit will consider a wide array of types of evidence that will need to be correctly gathered, managed, stored and presented. As part of the learning students will receive input from a forensic scientist regarding crime scene management, samples and potential sources of evidence. Building an investigation will often require taking multiple sources of information ad evidence, so working with other professionals is crucial.

Once a suspect has been located a clear strategy for arresting and interviewing them will need to be made. Another consideration may well be searching them or premises they are linked to and the powers the police have to conduct those searches. This will be supplemented by a practical scenario where students will undertake a search. Interviewing witnesses, victims and suspects will be core learning and students will develop knowledge of the PEACE model of investigative interviewing.

This unit builds on your knowledge from the first year learning especially application of the law and points to prove, using police powers in an ethical way and some of the problem solving approaches from researching and academic skills and Evidence based policing. It also supports all of the units in level 6 as there may be times when you are investigating issues surrounding abuse, addiction, safeguarding, cyber or terror related offending and need a thorough grasp of your powers.

Community Policing, Partnerships And Intelligence

The unit allows students to explore the relationships that the police can foster with the public in light of maintaining public support, trust, legitimacy and co-operation that form the basis of Policing by Consent. There are three constituent parts:

• Methods, functions and aims of Community Policing
• The Partnership framework stemming from section 17 of The Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Gathering and using Information and Intelligence

The unit commences with defining what community and neighbourhood policing are, what they aim to do and how they can be done. To understand community policing better, students will also consider what a community is, what types of community there are and how their needs may differ and compete. Community Policing at its core is an approach where policing is done with the community rather than a community being ‘policed’. Therefore, how police engage with the community is an important consideration.
Partnerships with local communities, community groups, business and organisations and other all local and Police authorities form the bedrock of community policing in England and Wales. The philosophy is simple, the police alone cannot combat crime and disorder, partly due to scale of the issue, the complexities of causes, variety of the impacts and by the very nature of the evidence requirements of the court process. These issues will all be considered within this unit.
Finally, the unit will consider how information and intelligence can be gathered and managed and then assessed to consider whether it can be acted on. If poor or inadequate information is gathered then there is potential for police to be developing actions and using resources poorly, which can have a knock-on effect onto the community they are seeking to protect.
This unit builds on learning from Policing and Society and Complexities and Contradictions at level 4, Evidence based Policing at level and will influence views on how fostering good relationships, communication and trust with the community and other partners can help protect and investigate offences such as CSE, abuse within the home and terror related offending at level 6.

Research, Evidence Based Policing And Crime Prevention Strategies

The unit provides students to develop a critical awareness of reflecting on actions of the police service and other organisations within the policing sphere. Notably it does this by considering 2 issues.

• Evidence based policing
• Problem solving methods and crime prevention

Against a backdrop of emerging crime types and threats, policing is required to develop an evidence-based approach to the work it does in order to protect the public it serves. Evidence based policing aims to apply a scientific methodology to police and crime related problems by using research, evaluation, analysis and other scientific processes to create policies and practice that make policing more effective and efficient. This is a quest to find out ‘what works’ in policing situations rather than following what is termed as the standard model. These issues and topics will be explored in this unit exploring and using different methods to look at various problems.

The second part of the unit considers crime prevention (or reduction) strategies and being able to consider different approaches in how to achieve the reduction. By using existing models, students will develop an insight into how police can try and tackle certain issues and then be able to apply their own ideas and creativity to that problem.

Learning from this unit will build upon knowledge and skills from Academic skills, particularly research methods, and also our understanding of crime causes and effects from Complexities and Contradictions. Using novel approaches and preventative measures may help improve relations with the community (level 5) and also understand some of the strategies in place to disrupt terror networks and organised cyber crime groups, whilst also trying to support, prevent and protect victims in level 6 modules such as safeguarding.

Roads Policing

The unit aims to develop your knowledge of how the police and highways partners conduct ‘road traffic policing’. Much of raids policing involves protecting other road users and pedestrians, and indeed the roads are safer when considering the volume of private and commercial traffic, deaths from road incidents are the second most likely cause of preventable deaths (after medical conditions). Indeed, every year approximately 2,000 people die on the roads in Great Britain. Police recruits will be expected to outline legislation and practical elements of policing the roads with the ultimate aim of reducing casualties and making the roads safer. The police record and investigative many collisions on the road each year and as such this unit

By understanding the movement of goods and people and how this work may support wider functions of policing students will see how crucial the learning from this unit is in tackling many types of crime. Correctly pursuing and safely stopping criminals whilst they are committing crime is an important police tactic in enforcement and public safety.

Learning from year 1 and 2 law modules will be especially helpful on understanding lawful and ethical application of the law. This unit will also help you consider alternative approaches in Community Policing and Responding to and Investigating of a range of Police related issues including the movement of people and goods and how they can be intercepted.

Exploring Addictions, Vulnerability And Risk

The unit provides students with an understanding of approaches to more complex policing environments and the theoretical context in which such operations take place. There are three constituent parts:

• Addictions
• Vulnerabilities
• Approaches to risk

Some of the topics within this unit have been touched on throughout the course but not at the level of depth required by level 6. These topics are so crucial to modern day policing that this unit will take a more considered and developed approach to them and attempt to equip students with a more theoretical and applied understanding of them. For example learning regarding victims and public protection at level 4 and 5 identifies the need for officers to understand how vulnerabilities can make people more likely to come into contact with Criminal Justice and whether the police can put systems and actions in place to protect the vulnerable or identify someone who is exploiting them, You will also develop investigation skills from level 5 by multiple and complex needs may help investigative strategies.

The topics within this unit will consider aspects that bring people closer to the Criminal Justice System either as a suspect or a victim/witness. This unit will explore approaches to understanding criminal behaviours in terms of vulnerability and exploitation. As such, they offer students the chance to start viewing some critical aspects of modern policing in more discursive position by exploring how and why some people and families connect with the Criminal Justice System in different ways. Some of the topics that we discuss may well inspire you to research them in greater depth in your Independent Project.

Emerging Responses To Safeguarding Children And Young People

This unit will draw on contemporary research to increase students’ understanding of, and engagement with, debates around child sexual exploitation (CSE) and associated forms of extra-familial harm. By viewing these issues through a different lens, students will learn how a Contextual Safeguarding approach can support a more nuanced, multi-agency and innovative response to such harm and how the police can contribute to this approach.

The unit will consider the legislation and police guidance within this specific safeguarding area and identify current academic debates within the research and the implications for policing policy and practice. As such this unit will develop themes initially encountered in Complexities and Contradictions at level 4 and Responding to Incidents at level 5, in terms of working with vulnerable groups, victims and witnesses. In particular, students will be encouraged to critically engage with discussions about the conceptualisation and assessment of harm and abuse, the complexities of safeguarding for young people who may not see themselves as victims of abuse as well as those who also perpetrate offences. The challenge of responding to non-familial forms of abuse and the need for understanding the contextual, multi-agency responses to such harm alongside the recognition of children and young people’s rights, are the overarching unit themes.

Contemporary Issues In Policing

The unit is designed to reflect contemporary issues that are challenging to policing, the Criminal Justice system and society as a whole. Both reflect significant challenges to safety and safety across the globe, with incidents capable of having the gravest of consequences for individuals, communities and nation states. This unit will cover topics related to;

• Terrorism and Counter Terrorism
• Cyber Crime and digital policing

This unit will consider two continually developing issues that demonstrate how interconnected the world is and how that translates into issues within England and Wales. The world is fundamentally anarchic as there is no supreme and overarching legal mechanism. This means that policing and legislation in England and Wales can be complicated when the source of the issue does not necessarily reside here.
As crime and criminals have responded to developing technology and new forms of media and communication, policing and security agencies have been required to develop their capability to investigate crime that is not necessarily place based. The impact this may have on investigations is significant because new skills and demands such as disclosure, storage and encryption provide potential barriers to investigations. You will develop your understanding of criminal legislation and investigations covered at level 4 and 5.

However, as abstract as some of these issues appear this unit will revert to legislation and practice within England and Wales as a potential source of public protection and investigation strategy. Police Officers need skills and knowledge that allow them to consider the laws given by the state in order to be effective. They need to work with their communities in order to identify threats to national security and public safety, so an understanding of information and community groups will be developed from the level 5 module of Community Policing.

Mental Health And Offending

The aim of this unit is to provide the theoretical, ethical, political and legal underpinnings of Forensic Mental Health practice. Further, this unit aims to develop students’ knowledge of the links between mental illness and offending behaviours.

The syllabus will engage with key questions such as what is Forensic Mental Health; why is it important to understand how the legal system deals with the mentally disordered offender; how is Forensic mental health practiced in the UK and globally and what role does the criminal justice system play in dealing with those who commit offences whilst mentally ill.

This unit has been designed to develop and broaden knowledge of the diverse needs of the mentally disordered offender You will gain an understanding of the principles of mental health legislation with specific attention paid to the utilisation of the law in the care of mentally ill individuals within the criminal justice system. The unit will build on knowledge on offending learnt at level 4 in Complexities and contradictions and legislation units at level 4 and 5. You will also consider learning regarding PACE custody procedures from level 5 in order to safeguard the rights of those in custody.

Independent Project In Professional Policing

The Final year Project in policing provides you with an opportunity to undertake a supervised, in-depth, small, police centred project relevant to your course and individual interests. The project allows you to examine an issue or problem within the relevant policy and practice contexts of policing, applying subject-specific knowledge, theory and appropriate methodologies.

The aim of the unit is to consolidate and apply the knowledge gained from the previous years by demonstrating the ability to make sense of potentially complex and possibly contradictory findings and apply them to a policing issue. The independent project will allow you to examine contemporary policing practice, social contexts and issues by applying subject-specific knowledge, theory and appropriate methodologies to the analysis of your chosen topic. This requires the capability to inquire into complex issues systematically and critically and thus allows you to move from critical acceptance of knowledge to the critical constructor of that very knowledge.

The independent project gives you an opportunity to develop a research proposal, consider the ethical implications of your project and to undertake an in-depth focused research project relevant to your course and to your individual personal and professional interests. You will develop academic and research skills gained at level 4 and 5, alongside having the opportunity to develop independent research skills. It will take the form of either a

• Substantive literature review
• Desktop research - secondary analysis project that addresses a proposition you wish to analyse in-depth
• A work-based problem
• Literature Review or Discourse Analysis that will require ethical approval

The unit is additionally designed in part fulfilment of the University’s requirements for all award courses to provide opportunities for you to develop your personal development planning skills and evidence your abilities in independent learning. The predominant aim is to offer you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to complete a sustained piece of individual research on an appropriate topic in ways that also enhance your personal and professional development skills and that can be relatable to your future employment.

You will undertake this project under supervision in order to maximise the opportunity to fulfil your potential in these areas. If ethical approval is not granted or not granted within the timeframe allowed students will be required to conduct a Secondary based research project.