• E4J University Module Series: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

• Teaching Guide

• Executive summary

• Introduction

• Overview of modules

• Thematic areas
• Content breakdown

• Module adaptation and design guidelines

• Teaching methods

• Conclusion

• References

• Acknowledgements

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• First published in May 2020
  

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  This teaching guide is a resource for lecturers  

Module adaptation and design guidelines

Academics incorporate their own subject matter knowledge and, in some cases, practical experience in crime prevention and criminal justice, into their courses. Because academics teach courses in different local/national contexts, the courses they teach need to include the information students need to critically engage with the laws, policies, and procedures of their own jurisdictions. For these reasons, all Modules within the E4J University ModulesSeries on UNODC core mandates (i.e. anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, cybercrime, firearms, integrity and ethics, organized crime, trafficking in persons/smuggling of migrants, and wildlife crime) have been purposely designed to be flexible and easily adaptable. The following subsections cover the ways in which the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Modules can be adapted to meet the needs of academics and their students (Note: this coverage is not meant to be exhaustive). Particularly, these subsections provide guidance and practical advice on how to use and integrate Module content within existing classes, courses, and programmes, as well as guidance on how to create new classes, courses, and programmes based on all or parts of the Module content.

Changing the timeframe

The Module content is designed for a three-hour class. However, academics can adjust the timeframe for the delivery of their content based on their teaching needs, the needs and preferences of their students, and the available class time at their institution. The class based on the Module content can thus be shortened or extended as needed. Academics may also decide to introduce additional content into their courses beyond the material included in the Modules.

Overall, each Module is designed to incorporate twelve hours of learning, which includes: six hours of preparation; three hours of teaching; and three hours for exercises and/or student assessments (see the section Content breakdown for more information about exercises and student assessments).

Localizing content

Academics may choose to localize the Module content. When considering the localization of content, academics should identify and assess whether the content applies to their local cultural context and environment. Academics can localize content by incorporating national legal frameworks, cases, and practices into their courses that relate to the Module content, as well as local readings and exercises and other forms of student assessment that reflects local contexts. Academics who seek to make the content relevant to their local setting, might consider some/all of the following:

• Familiarizing themselves with the relevant legal framework at the national level;

• Conducting research to find out which relevant international legal instruments their country has ratified. Delving into the periodic reports for the respective treaty monitoring bodies can be useful in understanding a state’s legal obligations and identifying international advice about ways to improve national law, policy, and practice in keeping with international legal obligations and internationally agreed standards and norms;
• Familiarizing themselves with national/local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the work of these NGOs (by, for example, reading their reports); and

• Asking criminal justice agents/NGO representatives to come to class to share insights.

Integrating content within an existing course

The Modules include a section that provides a suggested outline for the development of a stand-alone course based on the Module content (e.g. see Section 3.B, guidelines to develop a stand-alone course). When integrating Module content into an existing course, academics can merge the Module content within the content of their course, update related content within their existing course, or introduce new material identified in the Modules into their course. If there is no existing crime prevention and criminal justice content in the course, academics may choose to rearrange or consolidate some existing content to make space for the Module material.

Each Module includes flexible guidelines to develop a stand-alone course to offer suggestions about ways that the content and structure of the Module may be developed into a larger course. As mentioned earlier in this Teaching Guide, this type of flexibility exists within all of the E4J University Module Serieson the core mandates of UNODC, such as anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, cybercrime, firearms, integrity and ethics, organized crime, trafficking in persons/smuggling of migrants, and wildlife crime.

Combining modules

The complex tasks that arise in the workplace, and the complex challenges that the world is facing, fail to heed disciplinary boundaries. The E4J University Module Series on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice crosses these disciplinary boundaries by bringing together resources from around the world related to crime prevention and criminal justice. These Modules cover many aspects of this complex and interdisciplinary field, combining theoretical knowledge and practical insights from relevant disciplines. The interdisciplinary Modules examine crime prevention and criminal justice issues from multiple perspectives, integrating interdisciplinary material into a unified and coherent framework.

The Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Modules are designed to equip students with the interdisciplinary knowledge-base and the skills that they will need to respond to emerging and complex challenges related to crime. Interdisciplinary education provides students with the tools they need to engage in the cross-disciplinary application of knowledge (i.e. taking an existing idea or approach from one discipline and applying it to another). This form of interdisciplinary education also assists students in recognizing preconceptions and biases; cultivates their critical thinking and problem-solving skills; and helps students understand how conflicts arise and the ways to address them, while also considering the complexity of the issue at hand and the challenges of effectively dealing with it (Bossio et al., 2013; Jones, 2009). Interdisciplinary education also promotes what Fink (2003) has termed as significant learning (Maier et al., n.d.), whereby students: obtain information and comprehend issues (foundational knowledge); comprehend how and when to use obtained knowledge and skills (application); become capable of synthesizing concepts, acquired knowledge, and ideas (integration); acknowledge the individual and social consequences of problems, concerns, and/or issues (human dimension); recognize their thoughts and feelings (caring); and understand their own learning (learning how to learn) (Fink, 2003).

The Module content can be offered as a new class (or classes), course, programme, or integrated within an existing class, (or existing classes) course, or programme. The topic breakdown included in the key issues section of the Modules enables academics to select from those topics that meet their needs within a single Module or across Modules in the E4J University Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Module Series.

Table with topics of each Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Module in the Series

In addition to combining different topics from the same and/or different Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Modules, academics can also integrate topics from other E4J University Module Serieson the core mandates of UNODC, such as anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, cybercrime, firearms, integrity and ethics, organized crime, trafficking in persons/smuggling of migrants, and wildlife crime. Academics can thus create custom courses that meet the needs of their students.

The content of E4J University Module Series can be linked and cross referenced in order to enrich courses and/or classes. For example, Modules from the E4J University Module Series on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice could be combined with one or more of the Modules from a different E4J University Module Series (see below table) or one or more topics from one or more Modules within different E4J University Module Series. A case in point is the creation of a class or course on focusing on gender, crime, and criminal justice, which includes content from the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Module 10 on Violence Against Women and Girls and the content of Cybercrime Module 12 on Interpersonal Cybercrime, particularly the section on Gender-Based Interpersonal Cybercrime, as well as the content from Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Module 9 on Gender in the Criminal Justice System, Organized Crime Module 15 on Gender and Organized Crime, and Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Module 13 on Gender Dimensions of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.

Table with Modules of each E4J Module Series (click on the image to open the full table)

Academics are encouraged to combine Modules and/or topics from Modules, by deriving content from any of the Modules from these E4J University Module Series. For this purpose, registered users on the E4J website have access to a “build your own course” feature that enables them to customize and arrange the selected Modules in the order they are required. This customized feature produces a pdf of the combined content using this tool (Note: Assistance in the form of both a step-by-step guide and a video tutorial can be found here).

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