This course examines current issues in criminal justice. The materials are socio-legal in orientation, with an increasing emphasis on popular cultural sources; they emphasise process rather than legal rules. Historical and contemporary issues are examined within their broader political and discursive context. In examining various forms of discretionary decision-making in the criminal process an attempt is made to identify practices specific to class, race and gender. Topics covered from year to year vary according to current inquiries, campaigns and controversies.
Topics: reporting crime, criminal statistics, media approaches to crime, the politics of law and order, popular cultural perspectives, crime fiction, cop shows, fictional presentations of particular cases, serial killers, the death penalty, contemporary developments in social control, criminal violence, miscarriages of justice, and reform in the criminal justice system.