Degree Overview:

Overview:

The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing with Integrated Foundation Year is a four-year degree program designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to apply for a role as a Police Constable in England and Wales. The program is delivered by staff with decades of experience in the police force and follows the National Policing Curriculum.

Objectives:

This program aims to:

Equip students with the essential study skills and subject knowledge required for an honours degree.
Enable students to progress to the BSc (Hons) Professional Policing course, choosing either the traditional three-year route or the accelerated two-year route.
Provide students with the knowledge and skills required to apply for a role as a Police Constable in England and Wales.

Program Description:

The program is delivered over four years, with the first year being anIntegrated Foundation Year.
The Foundation Year provides students with the essential study skills and subject knowledge required for an honours degree.
After completing the Foundation Year, students can progress to the BSc (Hons) Professional Policing course, where they can choose either the traditional three-year route or the accelerated two-year route.
The traditional three-year route covers the National Police Curriculum in a practical and relevant way.
The two-year accelerated route provides students with a fast track to a career in policing.

Program Content:

The program covers the National Policing Curriculum in a practical and relevant way.
Students will learn the underpinning theories in criminology and the processes of criminal justice.
Students will also receive specialist tuition from former police officers in the core areas of conducting effective investigations, policing communities, policing the roads, information and intelligence, and response policing.

Program Structure:

Foundation Year:

The Foundation Year includes five modules:
Foundations of Social Sciences (40 credits)
Global Rights and Wrongs (20 credits)
Essential Study Skills (20 credits)
Foundation Project (20 credits)
Practical Numeracy Skills (20 credits)

Year 1 (national level 4):

Introduction to Criminology and Policing (30 credits)
Criminal Justice (30 credits)
Making Decisions: Policing Legally and Ethically (30 credits)
Policing Communities and the Roads (30 credits)

Year 2 (national level 5):

Responding to Incidents (30 credits)
Professional Policing in Context (30 credits)
How to be an Effective Investigator (30 credits)
Research Methods for Policing (30 credits)

Year 3 (national level 6):

Protecting the Vulnerable (30 credits)
Digital Policing (30 credits)
Counter-Terrorism (30 credits)
Evidence-based Policing Project (30 credits)

Module Descriptions:

Foundations of Social Sciences: This module will give you an introduction to social theories, examining wider research on the impact they have on key social structures, institutions, and social forces which influence and shape our views of the modern world.
Global Rights and Wrongs: This module takes a multidisciplinary approach to human rights abuses and violations across the globe.
Essential Study Skills: This module supports the development of skills and attributes needed for degree level study and graduate employment.
Foundation Project: This module supports the understanding of a topic area related to your area of study.
Practical Numeracy Skills: This module explores a range of relevant, real-world concepts and ideas to help develop confidence and competence in numeracy.
Introduction to Criminology and Policing: This module explores topics such as criminological theory, defining and measuring crime, trends in crime and victimisation, policing by consent, law enforcement agencies, the structure of the police force, policing reform, and evidence-based policing.
Criminal Justice: This module provides an introduction to criminal justice and social divisions such as class, gender, race, and age in criminal justice.
Making Decisions: Policing Legally and Ethically: This module develops problem-solving skills and studies evidence-based decision making.
Policing Communities and the Roads: This module covers an evidence-based approach to policing communities, the function of community policing, engaging with the community, preventing and responding to crime and anti-social behaviour, road policing, and ethical considerations.
Responding to Incidents: This module explores the scope of response policing, types of incidents and crime, Public Order offences, Stop and Search, major incidents, taking accounts from victims and witnesses, evidence-based practice, multi-agency working, social, political, and strategic drivers impacting on response policing.
Professional Policing in Context: This module covers the history of the police force, professional standards in policing, challenges in operational policing, public perception, anti-social behaviour, critical reviews of major incidents, abuse of power, misconduct, policing reform, and the College of Policing.
How to be an Effective Investigator: This module examines the intelligence cycle, information vs evidence, the process of an investigation, evidence-based practice in investigations, understanding the difference between 'volume and priority' and 'serious and complex' crime, accountability and discretion, decision making, bias, impact of investigations on victims and victim care, expert evidence and expert witnesses.
Research Methods for Policing: This module covers sources of research and evidence for EBP, quantitative and qualitative research methods, strengths and weaknesses of research methodologies, problem solving, creating an ethically sound research question, identifying best practice from evidence, and planning an intervention to tackle an identified issue.
Protecting the Vulnerable: This module looks at defining 'vulnerability', providing services to those who are vulnerable or at risk of harm, evidence-based practice in policing vulnerability, public protection policing, key legislation, victimology, personal aspects of vulnerability, intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting vulnerability, abuse, relationships between victims and offenders, bias, victim and witness care, and justice outcomes for vulnerable people.
Digital Policing: This module covers technology and use of devices, IT terminology, social networks, encrypted communications, influence of technology, digital hygiene and digital safety, key legislation, digital investigations, digital community engagement, internet-facilitated crime, and the impact of digital crime.
Counter-Terrorism: This module includes key counter-terrorism terminology and organisational structures, including threat levels, terrorism-related offences, terrorism-related police powers and detention, importance of intelligence, radicalisation and deradicalisation, CONTEST, and links between terrorism and organised crime.
Evidence-based Policing Project: This module involves undertaking a significant evidence-based research project while evaluating options, problem-solving, and forming solutions.

Assessment Methods:

Essays
Reports
Group work
Seminar presentations
Self-evaluation

Assessment Criteria:

Accuracy
Clarity
Coherence
Critical thinking
Depth of analysis
Evidence-based reasoning
Originality
Presentation
Research skills
Understanding

Teaching Methods:

Lectures
Seminars
Workshops
Group work
Independent study

Faculty:

The program is taught by staff with decades of experience in the police force.
The teaching staff are research-active in digital policing, desistance from crime, police powers, organised crime and terrorism, gender-based violence, and disability and vulnerability.

Unique Approaches:

The program is designed to be taught over no more than three days a week so that students can study around work and family commitments.
The University is the only institution in the North East that provides its students with volunteering opportunities under the Local Appropriate Adult Scheme.
The program offers a blend of theoretical and practical approaches to learning.

Potential Career Paths:

Police Constable
Detective Constable
Police Sergeant
Detective Sergeant
Police Inspector
Detective Inspector
Chief Inspector
Superintendent
Chief Superintendent
Assistant Chief Constable
Deputy Chief Constable
Chief Constable

Career Opportunities:

Police forces
Government agencies
Security firms
Private investigation firms

Career Outcomes:

Graduates of this program are well-prepared to apply for a role as a Police Constable in England and Wales.
The program also provides graduates with the skills and knowledge to pursue a career in a variety of other related fields.

University Library:

Students have access to the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre.
The libraries offer a variety of study environments to meet your needs.
Students have access to desktop PCs, Macs, and printing facilities.
The libraries work closely with academic staff to offer specialist, industry-standard resources in your subject discipline.

IT Provision:

Students have access to free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus.
Students can use the University's PCs or Macs.
The University has hundreds of computers for students to use.
The University has a friendly helpdesk team to assist students with any technical problems.

Location:

The program is based at the recently refurbished Wearside View, situated on the award-winning Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's.
This stunning riverside location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

The annual fee for this course is £9,250 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled. If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan. Please note, this course isn't available to international students.

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing with Integrated Foundation Year

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