Professional Policing

You'll look at the purpose of the police service and the responsibilities of those charged with delivering a professional service, particularly at constable level. You'll review the role of law enforcement agencies and be able to understand the concept and principles of policing by consent.

Cover the structure of the police service and members of the service, paying attention to both police constable and investigatory roles. You'll also look at police powers and how these powers are regulated. 

Grasp a clear understanding of how the police exercise police powers and procedures fairly and without bias.

Develop a clear understanding of national policing strategies and the role of external bodies to regulate policing, the importance of governance and data protection. Examine and understand the purpose of reviews, instances of malpractice and misconduct and how this influences the future of policing.

You'll be able to appreciate the purpose, benefits, and challenges of contemporary issues in policing communities in a variety of contexts. 

Explore the function of community perception, trust and confidence and the key issues in this area. Appreciate the importance of community engagement and understand how to foster effective community relationships.

Study the importance of media in a policing and investigation context.

You'll research diverse types of communities and public engagement, drawing on theoretical frameworks. Case studies will be used to assess strengths and weaknesses of the approach to policing and investigating diverse types of community. The legislative framework of PACE and CPIA will be used as a lens for application and discussion.

You'll be introduced to community groups and will spend time learning what makes a community group effective, and how engagement, participation and power all play a role in effecting positive social change.

Explore the fundamental skills required for effective investigation, and identify, articulate and demonstrate skills necessary for maintaining professional standards in policing, and relevant governance.

Analyse how the police have developed policies and procedures to reduce the possibility of professional malpractice; then review the progress being made within the police service to improve professional standards.

Examine the NDM and the role of discretion in the decision-making process and analyse the effect of bias. 

You'll explore principles of risk, and effective risk management, and critically review policing incidents in this context as well as understand the importance of effective leadership and team-working in an investigative environment.

You'll be introduced to the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) which is the official source of professional practice for policing. In particular, the Code of Practice to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA) 1996, which defines criminal investigation.

You'll be introduced to problem-solving techniques, sources of evidence which can be used to support policing practice, and the models used to differentiate between types of evidence, to identify best practice.

Explore different models used in problem solving and crime prevention, such as: problem-oriented policing (POP), ‘hot spot’ policing, intelligence-led policing, predictive policing, the Problem Analysis Triangle (PAT), rational choice theory (criminological), and situational crime prevention, amongst others.

Engage in effective problem solving of policing issues in role plays, scenarios and table-top exercises.

You'll explore the professional concept of evidence-based policing and the impact of evidence-based policing in practice. Consider the importance of partnership working and co-production in problem-solving; and the challenges of using multiple sources of data and different timescales to help define and understand problems in practice.

Learn the fundamentals of research, asking key questions to inform future directions, how to develop a range of options, evaluate them, develop the most appropriate solutions to policing problems and the potential consequences.

You'll be required to identify and understand an emerging issue or problem in a specific policing area and plan a research-based intervention to tackle the identified issue/problem.

Victims of crime attract unprecedented academic interest, both as a subject of psychological enquiry and as a focus of criminal justice policy. You’ll study the rights of victims and understand the physical, social, psychological and emotional effects victims face in context of primary offences.

You'll explore wider victimology themes in a criminological context and gain a sense of the significant historical change in which victims have been viewed in the criminal justice process, and an understanding of the weight attributed to different people and their ‘deserving’ of victim status, and therefore of justice. This is considered within the importance of the initial contact, particularly around frontline and uniform policing.

Your learning will be combined with the practical skill of investigative interviewing and by examining the importance of key aspects relating to ethical, professional and legal conduct.

You'll focus on suspects and offenders, paying particular attention to the theories which underpin the nature of offending and the contributors to an offending lifestyle. 

You'll examine the importance of offender rehabilitation and look at OCG in detail in the offender cycle, the role of MAPPA and community intelligence as a source of prevention as well as the importance in recording and sharing relevant information, and the potential consequences. 

You'll look at the legal framework and process with dealing with a detained person and understand the custody environment in an investigative context. Your learning will be combined with the practical skill of investigative interviewing, considering the importance of key aspects relating to ethical, professional and legal conduct.

You'll explore the purpose, benefit and responsibilities of the criminal justice system in a variety of contexts, including the role of the criminal justice system and the legislation surrounding this key area.

You'll consider the importance of the stage of the court process, how diversity of individuals and society impact on the criminal justice system and how conduct and complaints are dealt with.

You'll look at the purpose of the criminal justice system and the responsibilities of those charged with delivering a professional service and will review the role of the current legislation and processes that support the criminal justice system in order to understand the importance of gathering evidence to enable offenders to be convicted. You'll learn about processes for provision of materials for disclosure by the Crown Prosecution Service, and explore the stages of the court process.

This module also encompasses an employability element.

You'll consider the purpose, benefits and challenges of response policing in a variety of contexts. You'll explore the function of response policing and the key issues surrounding response policing, roads policing and attending major incidents with a particular focus on the key issues relating to the complexity and challenges of operational policing. 

You'll look at the importance of strategies in place to assist those involved in response policing to remain effective in an increasingly challenging environment and learn about the main sources of information and academic research for this area of front-line policing and how to use these materials for research purposes. 

You'll gain an overall understanding of the response policing role and the types of incidents and crimes likely to be encountered in this area of operational policing and examine the roles and responsibilities of the police and joint interoperability between other attending emergency services at an incident. 

You'll review high-profile critical incidents to establish the worst and best policing practices; such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Grenfell fire. You'll examine specific challenges faced by response officers in more complex response situations and contexts as well as the key social, political and strategic drivers impacting upon contemporary response policing and strategies to ensure they remain effective in an increasingly challenging environment. 

Examine diverse types of crime and evidence, considering the importance of effective evidence management and adherence to policy, legislation, and Authorised Professional Practice.

Complex and serious cases, including live and cold investigations, are used to explore investigative decision‑making, resource allocation, and the experiences of victims and witnesses.

Develop your understanding of intelligence‑led policing through the National Intelligence Model and supports application of the National Decision Model in operational contexts.

Emphasis is placed on investigative interviewing, critical analysis of case studies, and preparation for professional standards including the National Investigators Examination.

You’ll have the opportunity to conduct your own research project about a specific police issue which relevant to your chosen interest and that is identified in the current National Policing Strategy.

You’ll explore research options, sound research practices and appropriate presentation of findings through workshops and one to one supervisions.

You’ll use your knowledge and experience gained over the programme to inform your co-created project based on contemporary issues in modern policing.

You’ll conduct academic research with ethical consideration and review current literature to inform your thinking and provide a knowledge base for your critical thinking in relation to the issues in modern day policing.

Present your work to encourage debate and discussion. Defend your approach to the project using a cohesive and evidence-based argument, providing knowledge and suggestions for future directions.