Course Resources Archive

This module takes a critical and research-informed approach to examining how violent crimes (homicide and sexual violence) are investigated and represented through the criminal justice system.  The crucial role of officers attending a crime scene is examined, covering the importance of robust crime-scene management and initiatives such as the DASH model for risk identification, intervention and prevention.  While rehearsing the practical requirements for preserving, collecting and interpreting evidence at the crime scene, however, the module also draws upon case studies to extend students’ appreciation of  the ways in which narratives of ‘forensic truth’ are constructed in the process of investigation, reported in the media, and interpreted for the courts. 

1. Categories of crime: contentious definitions of homicide and rape.
2. The crime scene: initial response; forensic science at the scene; effective case management.
3. The DASH model for risk identification, intervention and crime prevention.
4. The significance of awareness of cultural contexts and social diversity in responding to domestic violent crime.
5. The ‘forensic narrative’: how plausible accounts of crime are constructed for the purposes of legal process, and how they are shaped to the requirements of an adversarial legal system.
6. The influence of entertainment and media accounts of sexualised violence on characterisations of offenders and victims, and the rationalisation of femicide as ‘love gone wrong’.
7. The module will include practical exercises to demonstrate and review practical skills.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1. Demonstrate practical aptitude and understanding of good practice in securing, processing and interpreting crime scenes, acting with initiative and within professional guidelines;
2. Analyse critically the tools and approaches used to secure, process and interpret crime scenes, and judge the strengths, limits and biases of current professional practice;
3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of cultural and social contexts to interpreting crime, and assess the implications for crime investigation, prevention, prosecution and punishment;
4. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the objectives and aims of the criminal justice response to crime and the forensic processes, and the limitations and cultural origins of the forensic narrative.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.