Curious about studying Criminology, Policing and Investigation - BSc (Hons)at Birmingham City University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Curzon Building
Full Time
Sep 2027
3 Year
Want to start a career in criminal investigation? Our Criminology, Policing and Investigation University course has close ties to the West Midlands Police Force. Make sense of contemporary issues in policing by getting the big picture perspective on crime, victimisation, and various responses to crime and deviance. Our course covers a range of topics, from the ethics of investigation to crime scene management, as well as practical criminal justice interviewing techniques.
Professional Placement YearThis course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies. If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the placement version of the course. Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year.
This foundational module introduces the historical development of criminology and its core theoretical perspectives. It examines how different schools of thought have sought to explain crime and deviance, encouraging students to engage with key criminological debates. The module is structured around a weekly exploration of major criminological theories, considering their origins, key concepts, and ongoing relevance to contemporary social issues. Through a combination of lectures, seminars, and guided reading, you will develop a strong theoretical grounding, enabling them to analyse and interpret crime within real-world contexts. The module explores the origins and evolution of criminology as a discipline and provides sustained engagement with central theoretical traditions. It emphasises the application of theory to contemporary crime and justice issues, while supporting you to develop core academic skills, including critical reading, academic writing, referencing, and presentation. This module is designed to provide the theoretical underpinning for the undergraduate degree and to support progression into more advanced study.
This module provides an introduction to contemporary issues in policing within England and Wales, grounded in an understanding of the role, function, and organisation of the police. It introduced you to policing as both a professional practice and an academic field of study. The module explores the foundations of policing and investigation while focusing on the social, political, and ethical challenges shaping modern policing. You will examine key contemporary debates including policing by consent and police legitimacy, diversity , accountability and ethic s in policing, police powers, V iolence Against Women and Girls (V AWG ) , serious youth violence and the use of technology in policing. Throughout the module, policing is examined within its wider social context , and you will explore how policing is influenced by public expectations, political priorities, crime trends, and changing societal attitudes. Contemporary investigative practices are introduced, including police decision-making, response policing, and the role of digital technology in crime detection and investigation. The module also introduces students to academic research, theory, and evidence-informed policing. You will develop core academic and employability skills such as communication, problem-solving and social awareness skills . Through engagement with contemporary policing issues, students gain sector relevant knowledge and transferable skills applicable to careers in policing, criminal justice, the public sector, and wider graduate employment, via a strong foundation for further study in Criminology and Policing at Level 5 and Level 6. The module is assessed via coursework (100 %) .
Major challenges and issues face UK Society such as climate collapse, cost of living crisis and violent far right movements. There is also enormous social change in the wake of resistance movements like, #MeToo, and Black Lives Matters. Sociology and criminology students must be able to relate shifts to changing patterns of offending and criminal justice. This module will use a combination of lectures and student-led seminars to help develop your criminological imagination. An assessment of an annotated bibliography will train you to connect major developments in criminology to the social and political context of major historical moments. This is replicated for studying crime and punishment in the 21st century. This engenders essential employability skills such as an awareness of current affairs, identifying sources of reliable data and research report writing in clear concise English.
This module provides you with an overview of the Criminal Justice System from point of entry to community reintegration, and the roles and responsibilities of different actors within the system. Through studying this module, you will develop an understanding of the evolution and structure of different components of the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the political, social, and economic factors which influence the delivery of justice and the consequences of these for suspects, victims and wider communities. For example, you will explore how constructions of gender, race, class, and other socio-economic circumstances influence the encounters and experiences of those within the Criminal Justice System. Building upon this, the module will critically engage with contemporary debates and issues surrounding the ‘purpose’ of the criminal justice system. As such, you will learn to access and interpret statistics on those who encounter the Criminal Justice System, as well as key trends and patterns relating to criminal justice-based responses. In terms of employability, you will learn about potential career opportunities within and around the Criminal Justice System and will be encouraged to become actively involved with volunteering opportunities. Practitioners from various agencies within the Criminal Justice System will deliver guest lectures on their experience of working within the field. You will also be given the opportunity to participate in field trips including to Birmingham Crown Court. You will develop transferable employability skills, including communication, statistical analysis and problem-solving. This module is assessed by a multiple-choice examination.
The module is designed to prepare students to independently formulate research questions, to design research plans which will answer these questions, to employ appropriate methods of research in an ethical manner, and to equip students with the practical skills needed to analyse data using appropriate computer software, including for example NVIVO and SPSS. This module will introduce you to the knowledge and applied skills to conduct criminological research. You will learn how to formulate criminological research questions for study through operationalising concepts, and by conducting literature reviews, and how to identify appropriate methods to answer these questions. You will learn about qualitative research methods including how to do document analysis, ethnography, interviewing, focus groups and case study research. You will practice applied skills in analysing qualitative data, which will include identifying themes in your data and an introduction to using computer software for qualitative research. You will learn about quantitative research methods including survey design, and secondary analysis of external datasets such as the Crime Survey for England and Wales. You will learn how to analyse and present numerical data including describing your research population through conducting frequency tests, making tables so you can compare different groups in your data, comparing averages, and how to identify and describe relationships between categories in your data. You will then be introduced to the principles underpinning mixed methods research, to enable you to identify when it is appropriate to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods, and how to design mixed methods projects. You will be taught in a workshop setting enabling you to practice and evidence the skills that you are learning throughout the module.
This module introduces you to the discipline of Security Studies and the ever-increasing importance of security within society . The module provides an overview of different theoretical approaches to the study of security, and how they help us to understand topics such as terrorism, politics , the environment and the digital space . Security is an area of international significance, and the learning on this module will provide you with the knowledge and understanding needed to appreciate the inter connected and contested nature of secur i ty , particularly in relation to the complex dynamic of state vs human security. You will explore and interrogate the relationship between tangible and intangible threats, the way in which they are constructed and the inequalities produced as a result. The module begins by highlighting the issue with the concept of security by discussion the idea that security means different things, to different people in different places at different times . This makes any understanding of security subject to bias and prejudice, with the abili ty to navigate these at the core of the teaching in this module . The module is multidisciplinary and engages with society and the security agenda in not only the international relations and sociology literature but contrasts this with the development of the concept within criminology , psychology , law , economics and public health . Having outlined core concepts and theories the module then deals with practices of security highlighting key threats created by political violence, terrorism , l egislation and public policy ; paying specific attention to the changing nature of politics and threat construction . The module explores several case studies including how security, society and justice are manifest in the contexts of violent states of impunity ; illiberal democracies , multinational cor porations and organised crime groups . As the module operates from a globalised perspective , the role of international institutions in the managing of state behaviour and the pursuit of justice in the international system is of paramount importance. The module is assessed by an essay, which will assist you with your academic writing style and help you to get some research experience. Employability skills acquired through this module include use of initiative, accuracy and depth of theoretical interpretation, and academic writing skills. There is also knowledge of and ability to engage in critical reviews of policy and legislation.
Th is module aims to develop your critical analysis and original thinking skills within the application of artificial intelligence / machine learning tools and models in policing and criminal justice. This involves a range o f operational settings including the predictive analysis of crime, offender management, live facial recognition , bail and sentencing decisions , large language models and data analytics. The subject matter will examine the core ethical questions in the use of AI within policing a nd criminal justice, including legislation, governance, legitimacy and accountability. You will evaluate the increasing importance of AI tools and models , along with public attitudes towards these powerful emerging technologies . You will examine and test the evidence of AI effectiveness and its a pp li cation within operational policing and criminal justice settings . This signpost s how AI may be implemented in the future and presents further investigation of further AI developments including artificial general intelligence and what this means for human agency and decision-making. You will also compare the emergence of AI governance models w ithin a global context a nd how AI is being maliciously deployed by within c rime and security settings . You will participate in learning and teaching on this module via in-person lectures, workshops , e Learning activities and formative assessments . You will attend twelve , one -hour lectures and twelve two -hour workshops in Semester Two at our city centre campus. This allow s you to engage the c entral concepts of Policing and Criminal Justice in the Machine Age . You will be provided with considerable support within formative tasks and assessments throughout the 12 weeks of study. Your assessment for this 20-credit module is highly authentic ; relating to professional employment and research skills that involves you working in a team to make an in-person presentation to the module leader on an AI enabled policing solution and governance framework. This will include questions from the module leader to assess your unders tanding of the subject matter. For your assessment, you may use AI tools , i.e. Chat GPT, Claude etc . However, you must document the prompts used , evaluate the AI outputs and show where and/or how the AI tool was wrong , displayed limitations or may have hallucinated . Harvard referencing is also required throughout your presentation submission, with a bibliography .
This module considers the role of forensic science in criminal investigations. You will examine a variety of methods and practices of forensic science , including crime scene analysis, DNA evidence and blood spatter analysis, and will discuss how these are interpreted to solve criminal cases . You will explore the theories and academic debates surrounding current practice . Teaching o n this module is carried out by way of lectures and seminars, with individual guidance and assistance being available to you in the research and preparation of you r work. The l e ctures will provide a basic framework and background to the subject and need to be supplemented by reading from the core texts and further reading. Seminar topics have been carefully chosen to promote discussion, through class debates, group exercises , and the use of selected media, therefore, you are strongly recommended to prepare for seminars by doing background reading and research where indicated . Emphasis is placed throughout on active and participat ory learning in small groups. The module is assessed by a n essay . Furthermore, t he module will provide you with a critical understanding of the forensic sciences and their use within criminal investigation. As such, this module delivers an important background knowledge and comprehension to those seeking a career in policing or other spheres involving investigation , or in areas of employment that require the critical understanding of the conclusions that might be drawn from investigatory processes.
This module is designed to help you explore Criminology ‑ related career pathways and begin developing your professional identity. It provides structured support to help you understand how the knowledge and skills gained through your degree can be applied in a wide range of professional contexts, both within and beyond the criminal justice system. It encourages you to connect Criminological theory to professional practice, strengthening your professional identity and preparing you for graduate employment. The module encourages you to think critically about different sectors, organisational cultures and ethical issues, and to consider where you see yourself working in the future. Through a combination of taught sessions, guided activities, and professional engagement, you will explore potential careers, develop employability skills, and reflect on your strengths, values and areas for development. The module is split into two parts: the first part comprises of taught sessions which focus on areas such as career exploration, skills mapping, professional conduct, reflective practice, and preparing effective examples for applications and interviews. The second part of the module encompasses a short period of professional engagement where y ou will be encouraged to connect your academic learning with professional experiences, and to articulate the transferable skills developed through your degree. This engagement is intended to be exploratory and flexible, allowing you to gain early exposure to professional or civic settings and to generate real experiences that can inform your learning and career planning. You will choose one of four pathway s: Pathway 1 – structured volunteering e.g. Special Constable, Charity Support Worker Pathway 2 – work-based learning e.g. Evaluating the use of ‘Ask Angela’ at a bar Pathway 3 – voluntary research assistantship Pathway 4 – micro-volunteering or project-based professional tasks (career exploration, skills development and volunteering) The module provides you with the opportunity to apply the learning from your Criminology degree to the world of work. It is designed to enhance your ability to critically self-reflect and to strengthen your employability skills , professional awareness and further applied learning opportunities. If who wish to gain more extensive professional experience may choose to progress to the optional Semester 2 placement module, where they can continue to undertake their placement or a deeper and more sustained placement experience can be undertaken for an additional 20 credits. By the end of the module, you will have greater confidence in your employability skills, a clearer understanding of possible career routes, and a stronger foundation for making informed decisions about your future.
This module is designed specifically to make you a confident social researcher, prepare you for writing an undergraduate dissertation, and enhance your employability, particularly project management skills. Y ou will have a chance to engage with major and emerging methods of researching criminological, policing and security issues. T he module will encourage you to think critically about choosing appropriate research approaches, ensuring ethical conduct, designing and using data collection tools, analysing data, communicating and disseminating your research , and managing projects. All these skills are what employers expect from criminology graduates. The module is assessed based on coursework, which involves preparation of a research proposal. T he t eaching is designed around preparing you to meet the learning outcomes and helping you design your own project. M ethods will include lectures and interactive resources. You will also be able to apply your knowledge in practice by participating in seminar activities and designing your own research proposal for the assessment. We will provide examples of completed small and large research projects, discussing their design and methodology . Readings will include chapters from methodology textboo ks, as well as articles reporting findings from completed studies. The module will help you strengthen the following competences: developing a research project; project management; conducting data analysis; addressing ethical issues; reviewing literature; academic writing; and referencing.
This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40- week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.
This module examines some of the contemporary debates that surround the concept and practice of police ethics, with a particular focus on criminal investigation. It moves from an examination of broad ethical models, through an analysis of the relationship of these models to the policing of a diverse society, on to the study of how principled policing needs to inform the work of criminal investigation. You will discuss, analyse and critique approaches to both ethics and policing practice. Much of the taught content will focus on introducing and explaining key cases which have had an impact on public perceptions of policing and police legitimacy. You will be asked to examine these case studies and consider what changes have been implemented, why and how far we have come. This will also incorporate consideration of the historic relationship between the police and specific communities, how/if relations have improved and what steps the police should take to build public trust. The module will be assessed by a 3,000-word investigative report . You will be encouraged to take a proactive attitude towards the module and to bring with you any thoughts, reflections or opinions on both current events and any cases that we may not have covered on the module, as well as the impact of contemporary policing policies on public perceptions. Learning will be a mix of taught content, reading and class discussion and you will be encouraged to reflect upon your own ethical framework as well as consider the motivations of the officers in question. It will help you to embed the analytical skills and critical attitude required for a career in any form of investigation .
This module will explore essential criminal justice interviewing skills for practice in England and Wales. Th e module is designed to have direct relevance to the workplace and develop your employability potential should you seek to work in the criminal justice arena in the future. You will emerge from the module equipped with the skills and knowledge to conduct witness, victim , and suspect interviews. The teaching team includes relevant professional expertise and experience within policing and major crime investigation . This module focusses on key skills and academic theory that underpins current investigative interviewing practice in England and Wales. The module starts with an examination of the history behind modern interview practices and then explores questioning styles and techniques that may be adapted to enhance qualitative research outcomes and improve life skills. The focus of the module moves onto an examination of interviewing considerations with formative assessments where you will explore witness categorisation and Special Measures that can be put in place during the judicial process to support witnesses. The module then progresses into suspect interviewing, where you learn the legal and strategic requirements of conducting a suspect interview. The module culminate s in a unique summative assessment where you will be required to work with a partner to conduct a 'live' suspect interview with a role player , demonstrating your abilities to observe the legal constraints and conduct an ethical and effective suspect interview. The module has direct relevance to developing skills for employability within policing and criminal justice and frames international approaches to investigative interviewing, making contrasts and comparisons to approaches within England and Wales. Inclusivity is a key theme in the theory and practice of investigative interviewing, including considerations around vulnerability, safeguarding , and human rights.
This module provides you with the opportunity to carry out a self ‑ directed , critical investigation of a specific topic relating to Criminology . You will produce a substantial independent piece of work, which may be empirical, policy ‑ based , or theoretical in nature . Building on the skills developed at Level 4 in Applied Research Methods in Criminology and Level 5 in the Research Proposal module, you will draw on your developing knowledge, interests, and methodological competence to conduct an in ‑ depth dissertation in an area of your choosing. Guidance will be provided through taught sessions scheduled across the academic year, alongside supervision tailored to your i ndividual dissertation . You will be allocated a supervisor who will offer small ‑ group and/or one ‑ to ‑ one supervision at key stages of the research process . Assessment for the module takes the form of a written dissertation, with opportunities to submit up to three formative patches for feedback . A series of writing retreats will also be offered, enabling you to work in a supportive and collaborative environment with peers and supervisors. The module is geared towards enhancing your employability by equipping you with a range of competencies necessary for graduate-level work and further study, including research design, project management, analytical skills, ethical awareness, and report writing skills.
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