An introduction to the English (and Welsh) criminal justice ‘system'

Aims

This course aims to:

•    encourage you to understand how the English/Welsh criminal justice system ‘works’ (and doesn’t ‘work’)

•    encourage you to think critically about the effectiveness of criminal justice processes

•    encourage you to continue to explore their criminal justice concerns after the course concludes

Content

This introduction to criminal justice systems focuses on that in England and Wales in 2025, but with a few international comparisons thrown in. We look at both criminal justice institutions and criminal justice processes, which will lead students to make an evaluation of the effectiveness of this system (and others).

Presentation of the course 

The course is divided into 5 sessions.

Course sessions

1.    Introduction to criminal justice. A statistical analysis of ‘flows’ through the English/Welsh system. The role of policing in modern society: out of court disposals.

2.    Pre-trial processes: police powers; the role of the prosecutor; the right to silence; legal advice and representation.

3.    Trial processes: the role of magistrates, judges and juries.

4.    Prisons and probation: how and why do we punish people?

5.    Evaluating processes: from the perspective of victims and suspects

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the criminal justice processes generally, and of the English system in particular.  

As a result of the course, students will gain a greater understanding of the subject and should be able to:

•    understand how the English/Welsh criminal justice system ‘works’ (and doesn’t ‘work’)

•    think critically about the effectiveness of criminal justice processes

•    continue to explore criminal justice concerns