Welcome to your Policing and Criminal Investigation course

Hello Future Policing Graduate! Welcome to your Policing & Criminal Investigation course at Staffordshire University. Starting university can be both exciting and a little daunting, but you will have a team of dedicated lecturers to help you settle in. We have put together this web page to help you prepare for your exciting new course at University. We will cover everything when you arrive, but there are some things you can do to get a head start on preparing for your course and to help you make the most of your first week. If you do need anything, your course leader is only an email away. We are really looking forward to you joining us in September and we are here to help you every step of the way!

Your staff team

We want to make sure you know some of our team before you arrive. Hopefully this will help you recognise us and ensure you know who you can contact if you need any additional help and guidance.

Dr Lauren Metcalfe

Course Director

Lauren completed her PhD in Evidence Based Policing and joined Staffordshire University in 2017. She is now Course Leader for Professional Policing (our Pre-join degree) and Course Director for our policing degrees.

Lauren's profile

Dr Leanne Savigar-Shaw

Senior Lecturer

I am a Lecturer in Policing with an academic and research background. I have been involved in a number of research projects focusing on mobile phone use by drivers, police legitimacy and procedural justice.

Leanne's profile

Justin Mason-Spanner

Lecturer

I spent 30 years in the Police completing my service as a nationally trained and accredited Senior Investigating Officer, managing murder investigations. I use my knowledge and experience to deliver modules within the course.

Justin's profile

First activity

During Welcome Week you will meet your Course Leader, your lecturers and your new course mates. We will go through your timetable with you, explain what you will cover during the first year of your degree and outline what extra-curricular activities you can get involved in.

Foundation Year semester one activities

Are you studying Policing and Criminal Investigation with a Foundation year?

Your Foundation Year provides a wonderful opportunity to develop the skills needed for the successful completion of your degree. The topic areas covered include an introduction to academic study skills, as well as an introduction to critical thinking and argument. You will also study Theories of Criminality and the Sociology of Crime, enabling you to contextualise crime through the application of the law to a range of case studies and developing practical skills in Criminal Justice.

Course Delivery

Policing and Criminal Investigation is a popular course typically attracting 40 students per academic year. At level 4 our students work with students from other courses such as Forensic Investigation, Criminology and Professional Policing. We feel this is important as it facilitates a wider understanding of the Criminal Justice Sector and provides an excellent foundation for your studies at level 5 and 6 where you are generally working with your fellow policing students from the Policing and Criminal Investigation and Professional Policing awards.

At all levels of study the content is almost exclusively delivered on campus.

During the course of your degree you will be involved in practical sessions at both the Crime Scene House and around the campus.

Before You Arrive

There are lots of online resources that are relevant to Policing and Criminal Investigation that you can access before you arrive on campus. Here are just a few to get you started:

How does policing work in the UK? Find out here

Hear about the current issues in Policing from Police Commander

Listen to our CrimeTapes Podcast

We also recommend the following films, documentaries and books that cover policing themes:

TV/YouTube

BBC documentary: Stephen: The murder that changed a nation
How to Catch a Serial Killer – Documentary with Sir Trevor McDonald
The Rachel Nickell Story
Apple Tree Yard
BBC Documentary of Hillsborough

Books

Catching a Serial Killer – Stephen Fulcher
Napper Through a Glass Darkly – Alan Jackaman
And Still I Rise – Doreen Lawrence

Before You Arrive - Foundation Year

This is not compulsory, but here is a list of resources to get you started

Netflix/Other Streaming Services

The Innocence files - The innocence files has a number of episodes which examine examples of wrongful convictions – use of DNA and disagreements between experts

How to Fix a Drug Scandal - Two drug lab chemist’s shocking crimes cripple a state’s judicial system and blur the lines of justice for lawyers, officials and thousands of inmates. (good for looking at the drawbacks of relying on forensics)

The Staircase - Accident or murder? After the death of his wife, author Michael Peterson watches his life go under the microscope. (follows the trial)

Making a Murderer - Filmed over 13 years, this real life thriller follows the story of two men accused of a grisly crime they may not have committed.

The People V OJ Simpson (Disney+) - This dramatization traces the twists and turns of OJ Simpson’s murder trial. (good for looking at the problems of physical evidence and influences on jury decisions)

TV Documentaries

Catching a killer:- The search for Natalie Hemming

Murder in the outback

OJ: Made in America

YouTube

Inside the Court of Appeal

Crime Scenes Scotland Forensics Squad

OJ Simpson: the Untold Story

Films

12 Angry Men (1957) - At the end of a murder trial in New York City, the jurors retire to consider their verdict. The man in the dock is a young Puerto Rican accused of killing his father, and eleven of the jurors do not hesitate in finding him guilty. However, one of the jurors (Henry Fonda), reluctant to send the youngster to his death without any debate, returns a vote of not guilty. From this single event, the jurors begin to re-evaluate the case, as they look at the murder - and themselves - in a fresh light!

A couple of suggestions for books you may want to read

The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How it's Broken, by an anonymous author

Traces, by Professor Patricia Wiltshire

Under the Wig: A Lawyer's Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence, by William Clegg QC

Useful Websites

Crime Museum - information about forensic techniques and case studies

The Forensics Library - information on different types of forensic evidence and how it is collected and analysed, as well as information on how the crime scene is processed.

Groups and Societies

Being a member of a Student Society or Sports Team is a great way to meet other students and our Students' Union have a wide range of societies you can join. Students in the School of Justice, Security and Sustainability often join the following societies:

The Forensic and Crime Science Society

The Law Society

The Debating Society

Students' Union

Student Stories

You can read stories and watch videos about our current students and graduates on the JSS Blog and YouTube playlist

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Equipment and Software

There are a multitude of resources available online for students at Staffordshire University, such as Microsoft Office 365.

Software link: https://staffsuniversity.sharepoint.com/sites/software/SitePages/Home.aspx

Software for students

Academic skills

Whether you're joining us from school or college, or you're returning to education after some time away, everyone can benefit from the Academic Study Skills resources provided by the University library.

The Academic Skills team is here to support you throughout your academic journey and to help you gain the skills you need to reach your full potential. They can assist with academic reading and writing skills, give advice on how best to plan assignments, and help improve your time management.

The library's Academic Skills Guides offer the key information to make studying easier and give a comprehensive guide to the learning resources and services we offer.

Staffs CampusConnect

Staffs CampusConnect is our student-led community app for new students. Connect with other people from your course, hometown or country, and even those with similar interests.

To register, please ensure you use your Applicant ID (Student Number) that you received in your offer letter, and the email address you used in your application to us.

Register for CampusConnect

Welcome website

Our welcome website will provide you the link to your new student life. It's all about how you find your place at university, including everything from how to meet friends, feel confident in doing your academic work, being a member of your Student Union and getting involved in Union Societies, Academic Societies, Sports, Volunteering or representing your peers in your School.

Part of this Welcome Week - we have an exciting program of University and course level activities planned for you for your first week in September. We are also building an extended program for you to join a series of events throughout the first half of the autumn term. Further details will be shared with you via the Welcome website and Students' Union pages over the coming weeks.

Welcome website

Campus map

Use our campus map to familiarise yourself with our campus before you arrive.

Campus map (PDF)

Check your email

Please make sure you check your personal email account regularly over the next few weeks. We will be sending you lots of information about Welcome Week.

We are really looking forward to welcoming you to our campus in September. If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch with your Course Leader, Justin Mason-Spanner, justin.mason-spanner@staffs.ac.uk