Postgraduate Course: The State of Criminal Justice: Law, Politics and Policy (LAWS11554)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Criminal justice systems are often criticised for being in a poor state, and we regularly disagree about law, politics and policy in this area. How, then, should we use expert knowledge and research evidence about criminal justice to inform law, politics and policy? And what role should be played by 'the people', 'public opinion' and so-called 'experts by experience'? These are the central questions addressed in this course, and they will guide us through many controversial contemporary issues in the jurisdictions of the UK and beyond. |
| Course description |
We know a great deal about crime, criminal law and criminal justice institutions, yet we also regularly disagree about law, politics and policy in these areas. Words like 'scandal', 'failure' and 'crisis' are commonplace in public discourse about criminal justice, and efforts to reform or even 'revolutionise' how we do things rarely seem to bring about desired changes in the real world. How, then, should we use our knowledge about criminal justice to inform law, politics and policy? Are there experts in criminal justice, and what role, if any, should their expertise play in policymaking? What do we mean by 'the people', and to what extent should public opinion affect criminal justice policy and practice? These are the central themes of this course, and they will guide us through many controversial contemporary issues in the jurisdictions of the UK and beyond. We will critically examine ideas such as 'evidence-based policymaking', 'technocracy' and 'populism', and use these frameworks in our discussions of, among other things, 'coercive control' models of domestic abuse, 'trauma-informed' sexual offence trials, 'public health' approaches to drugs and the 'lived experience' of violent victimisation. We will also examine criminal justice institutions in comparative international perspective, engaging with sources from law, criminology, public policy and other disciplines.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessed Essay of 5,000 words comprising 100% of the mark. Three essay questions will be released in Reading Week. |
| Feedback |
An optional formative assessment will be released at the beginning of the semester. Students will be given an opportunity to write 1,000 ¿ 1,500 words part-way through the course on a key theory, concept or idea from one of the introductory sessions. Brief individual written feedback and group verbal feedback will be provided promptly, so that students can benefit from it when writing their summative assignment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically examine theories and research on the law, politics and policy of criminal justice.
- Evaluate ideas such as ¿evidence-based policymaking¿, ¿technocracy¿ and ¿populism¿ as they relate to criminal justice.
- Understand the role of ¿experts¿ and ¿expertise¿ in criminal justice, in the contexts of law, politics and policy.
- Think independently, speak fluently and write informedly about core ideas and empirical case studies covered in class.
- Read, interpret and engage with primary sources and secondary academic literature, both domestic and international, from different disciplines relevant to the subject matter (e.g. law, politics, policy).
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Reading List
There is no set text for this course. Given the range of topics covered, weekly reading lists will need to be consulted for the relevant specialist materials.
The following list provides a solid starting point for some of the key themes in the course, specifically evidence-based policymaking, technocracy and populism in criminal justice.
Loader I and Sparks R (2017) Penal populism and epistemic crime control. In: Liebling A, Maruna S and McAra L (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (6th ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Loader I and Sparks R (2016) Ideologies and crime: Political ideas and the dynamics of crime control. Global Crime 17(3¿4): 314¿330.
Shammas V (2016) Who¿s afraid of penal populism? Technocracy and ¿the people¿ in the sociology of punishment. Contemporary Justice Review 19(3): 325¿346.
Maruna S and Barber C (2011) ¿Why Can¿t Criminology be More Like Medical Research? Be Careful What You Wish For¿. In: M Bosworth and C Hoyle (eds) What is Criminology? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cairney C (2016) The Politics of Evidence-Based Policymaking. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Canovan M (1999) Trust the people! Populism and the two faces of democracy. Political Studies 47(1): 2¿16.
Mudde C (2004) The populist zeitgeist. Government & Opposition 39(4): 541¿563.
Müller J (2014) ¿The people must be extracted from within the people¿: Reflections on populism. Constellations 21(4): 483¿493.
Bickerton C and Accetti C (2017) Populism and technocracy: Opposites or complements? Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 20(2): 186¿206.
Turner S (2001) What is the problem with experts? Social Studies of Science 31(1): 123¿149.
Weiss C (1977) Research for policy¿s sake: The enlightenment function of social research. Policy Analysis 3(4): 531¿545.
Boswell C (2009) The Political Uses of Expert Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Christensen J, Holst C and Molander A (2023) Expertise, Policy-making and Democracy. London: Routledge.
Nutley S, Walters I and Davies H (2007) Using Evidence: How Research Can Inform Public Services. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Eyal G (2019) The Crisis of Expertise. Cambridge: Polity. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking; curiosity; problem solving; reflection; communication; inclusivity; adaptivity; are all skills for success that are developed by completing the course. |
| Keywords | Criminal justice,law,politics,policy,evidence-based policymaking,technocracy,populism,expert |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Dominic Aitken
Tel:
Email: dominic.aitken@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Susanna Wickes
Tel:
Email: Susanna.Wickes@ed.ac.uk |
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