Module SOC2101 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC2101: Police and Policing
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The evolution of the police in England and Wales, and the structures and governance mechanisms currently in place.
- The nature and function of the police.
- The difference between ‘police’ and ‘policing’.
- The main theories of policing, their strengths, weaknesses and differences.
- The main techniques used to research the police, their strengths and weaknesses and the role that academic analysis can, and should, play in policing.
- Different approaches and tactics used in UK policing and internationally.
- Police use of force, and less lethal weapons.
- Police use of discretion.
- Police (sub)culture(s)
- Accountability in modern day policing, and its interaction with police legitimacy.
- Changes to, and in, policing, including the notion of plural policing.
- Police misconduct and corruption
- The physiological impact of policing
- Policing and its impacts
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Preparation of essay |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Preparation for exam |
| Guided Independent study | 28 | Preparation for seminars and lectures |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
• Buttle, J (2007) ‘A Constructive Critique of the Officer Safety Programme Used in England and Wales’ Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy 17 (2): 164 – 181.
• Paoline, E (2004) ‘Shedding light on Police Culture: An Examination of Officer’s Occupational Attitudes Police Quarterly 7 (2): 205 – 236.
• Reisig, M and Kane, R (2014) The Oxford Handbook of Police and Policing Oxford University Press; Oxford (in particular Parts 2 and 3).
