This unique online Postgraduate Certificate in Policing and Criminal Investigation introduces many key topics relating to policing, psychology and criminal investigations.
You’ll discover the varied techniques used to investigate major crimes, such as homicide and sexual assault, while also critically reviewing effective police leadership and partnerships. The programme also has a strong focus on the role of psychology in supporting criminal investigations.
Using programme content created by tutors with considerable academic and professional senior policing and investigative experience, you’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of contemporary policing, criminological and psychological theory and social policy. After completing the programme you’ll also be able to demonstrate an advanced understanding of the changing nature of policing with a particular focus on leadership, social and government policy, and partnership working. You’ll also acquire a range of critical and analytical skills that can be used in a variety of different professional contexts.
This short, 100% online course is a great alternative to full-time, campus based study and is perfect if you are interested in discovering how policing and criminal investigation works, or if you are attracted to a career in the field of policing or investigation. If you are already working in policing or investigation, then this programme is valid (Continuing Professional Development) CPD and will enhance your knowledge and career prospects.
Upon completion of your Postgraduate Certificate, we offer the opportunity for you to progress on to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Criminology and Criminal Psychology (awarded after 120 credits) and a full Masters in Criminology and Criminal Psychology (awarded after 180 credits).
The Postgraduate Certificate Policing and Criminal Investigation is made up of the following modules and, upon completion, is equal to a total of 60 credits at Level 7.
Level 7 modules:
Introduction
Studying online gives you the freedom to study when and where it suits you – at home, during your lunch hour or anywhere else you have internet access.
All of our online courses have an indicative study duration which is a guide to how long your course will take to complete. The actual duration may be longer or shorter depending on your speed of study, study options chosen and module availability. It’s possible to complete your studies faster than the indicative course duration by doubling up on modules at certain times; however, minimum study durations do apply.
All of our courses have regular start dates throughout the year. Our academic year is organised into modules, typically with a one- or two-week break between modules and a structured three-week break for the Christmas period. Students will receive a course timetable during the application process.
Teaching methods and style
As we are a 100% online university, we utilise a Virtual Learning Environment instead of a traditional campus. The system tracks and manages the learning process in real-time and provides you with immediate access to your learning materials.
This learning platform allows both students and tutors to actively take part in real-time conversations and you can listen to, and view, live lectures and seminars over the internet. All courses are delivered in English only.
You are supported throughout your course by a dedicated Student Adviser and have the opportunity to regularly interact with fellow students and your tutor. To ensure you receive the support you need from your tutor, we cap our class sizes at 20 students.
Assessment
We adopt an assignment-based approach to assessment instead of exams. Assessment for the Postgraduate Policing and Criminal Investigation will be based on a combination of written coursework.
You will always be aware of your current provisional grade right from the start of the programme, allowing you to evaluate the success of your current study methods and clearly identify areas to improve. We believe that this transparency gives you the information you need to make the most of your postgraduate course. We achieve this by:
We also have a policy of ensuring that work submitted by students is authentic. As well as the fact that all work is frequently assessed, we use a well-established electronic monitoring system to check for plagiarism.
We are dedicated to improving employability amongst our graduates. Our online courses give you the opportunity to improve your career prospects and earning potential with a mix of key skills that are directly transferable to the workplace.
This PG Cert Policing and Criminal Investigation course will give you the skills needed to pursue a career in policing and/or investigation. The programme is also perfect for those who are already working in the police service or investigation and looking to enhance their career prospects.
LJMU's Policing and Cybercrime Masters enables you to explore the interface between policing and computing, developing the skills required for contemporary crime investigation.
-Based in the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies
-Collaborative programme with the Faculty of Engineering and Technology
-Reflects increasing police involvement in computer forensics/cyber crime
-Explore the interface between policing and computing
-Ideal for serving officers and those about to embark on their policing or academic career
-Excellent employment opportunities in policing and fraud investigation
-Valuable foundation for progression to PhD
MSc Policing and Cybercrime combines supervised independent research with specialist training in research methods and academic skills, while also helping students become aware of emerging approaches currently practiced in the discipline.
Over the course of the programme you will be introduced to key developments in policing studies and given the skills necessary to produce a successful postgraduate research project. You will work individually with a supervisor throughout the year, as well as taking part in taught modules with fellow Policing Studies students and/or students from other disciplines/Faculties. In addition, you will be part of the wider research activities of the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, which aims to provide outstanding, innovative teaching and research for the advancement of policing and police forces.
You will receive specialist supervision and study within a diverse community of fellow researchers, including specialist staff who work within the studies of computing. Staff are active in a wide range of fields including: Crime Prevention, GIS, People Trafficking, Public Order, Mental Health, Multi Agency and Partnership Working in the Public Sector, Computer Crime, Investigation, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism, Port Security, Risk Management and Education.
What you will study on this degree
Please see guidance below on core modules:
Policing in Context
Gain insights into current policing, community safety and criminal justice priorities by exploring different perspectives that relate to policing, regulatory processes, professional values and ethics
Advanced Research Skills
In preparation for your dissertation, this module introduces key epistemological and methodological issues that impact upon research into crime, security, community safety and criminal justice
Computer Security
Develop an in-depth knowledge of various security threats and vulnerabilities in computer systems as well as the importance of computer security
Network Forensics
Develop a critical appreciation of both the theoretical and practical issues in the field of network forensics
Advanced Topics in Network Security
Explore cutting-edge developments in Network Security by studying recent academic research in the area
Network Security
Develop a deep understanding of various security vulnerabilities in and threats to computer networks as well as the importance of network security
Dissertation
Analyse and interpret an issue in your chosen field
The information listed in the section entitled 'What you will study' is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal Academic Framework review, so may be subject to change. Students will be required to undertake modules that the University designates as core and will have a choice of designated option modules. Additionally, option modules may be offered subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Academic Framework reviews are conducted by LJMU from time to time to ensure that academic standards continue to be maintained.
Please email [email protected] if you require further guidance or clarification.
Critically examine your current working practice as a senior police professional at doctoral level. Become a rigorous learner at the highest strategic perspective, able to apply new forms of knowledge and models to your professional practice.
Completing our Professional Doctorate in Policing will help deepen your knowledge and understanding of your professional practice to an advanced level, allowing you to contribute substantially to the development of new techniques, ideas, and approaches in your area of policing.
First, you will develop your research skills pertaining specifically to policing, allowing you to reflect on and critically examine your own professional activity in accordance with academic and professional ethical standards.
Then, supported by our expert academics, you will conduct a research project to generate new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of your area of professional practice.
The online element of the course will take place on Canvas, our learning management system, allowing you to access tutorials with staff and students, as well as individual supervision, through chat and discussion forums.
This will be supplemented by face-to-face study days, at which you will consolidate your learning and develop communities of practice through group activity, peer learning and by presenting your ideas and research to your fellow students. These sessions will also give you an opportunity to meet in person with your supervisor, who will be selected from our pool of expertise across the university depending on your area of interest.
In studying for any academic award it is important that candidates feel part of a community. This can be more challenging when studying part-time and with significant professional and other commitments. This programme is designed to help you to develop a sense of belonging to your cohort group (the others beginning Professional Doctorate studies at the same time as you) through face to face meetings at weekend workshops and through discussion groups using the Virtual Learning Environment (Canvas). Furthermore, you will also spend some time in workshops with candidates on other professional doctoral programmes in other faculties.
This course is managed by the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER). As one of our students you will be part of the PIER research community and the wider ALSS postgraduate student body. Throughout the year, PIER hosts a series of events and opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange with local and regional police forces, and representatives from national policing bodies.
Our Professional Doctorate in Policing will benefit your career progression by helping you develop higher-level academic skills and apply new forms of knowledge and models to your professional practice.
Advance your career in the police service. Explore the key challenges facing police in today’s rapidly changing world, and develop enhanced critical and research skills to help tackle them.
Our MA Contemporary Policing will give you a contemporary perspective on the key aspects of policing theory and practice that are required for senior officers in the police service, covering three main strands: public protection; digital and leadership; management and change.
Drawing on expertise from many of our University's faculties, and supported by our Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, this course will develop your skills in critical analysis and research methodology, allowing you to identify, reflect on and critically engage with evidence-informed policy and practice.
By exploring relationships between and within different academic disciplines, you will discover how they can be applied to the police service both as an organisation and in its working practices, and gain insights into current policing priorities.
You will also develop a critical understanding of the key issues affecting the police service in our rapidly changing society, including police accountability, effectiveness and performance, and organisational transformation.
By the end of the course, you will command a range of critical analysis techniques and frameworks you can apply to problems and issues in your own area of policing, with a thorough consideration for the implications of ethical dilemmas.
You will receive lecture materials through online delivery, supplemented by two study days each trimester. These face-to-face sessions will bring you together with your fellow students, allowing you to share your learning, as well as giving you an opportunity for individual supervision.
The online element will be delivered through Canvas, our learning management system, and consist predominantly of narrated lectures, with audio and video feedback provided through Adobe Connect and Skype. You will also have access to discussion boards throughout the course, creating an online community of staff and students.
During both the online and face-to-face delivery, you will be supported by lecturers who are experts in their field, across a range of disciplines such as policing, criminology, sociology, health and leadership and management.
The MSc in Policing is aimed at police and law enforcement professionals wishing to become future leaders and managers. The focus is on providing an evidence-based approach to address modern challenges of policing diverse communities and dealing with transnational organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime and evolving security threats, while upholding principles of procedural justice to increase police legitimacy and public confidence.
The programme will outline the philosophical and theoretical bases for evidence-based policing practice. Issues will be examined with respect to ethical, policy and political contexts. It is a multidisciplinary programme drawing on psychology, statistics, mathematics, engineering, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing and is designed to enable graduates to be effective leaders and managers of a modern diverse police service.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of five core modules (75 credits), three optional modules (45 credits) and a dissertation/report (60 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Students choose three of the following:
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops. Distance learning students will have access to enhanced Internet-based tools and resources and virtual links between staff and students. Assessment is through unseen examinations, coursework, presentations, reports and project assignments.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Policing MSc
UCL Security & Crime Science is offering up to 14 bursary scholarships of between £2,500 and £10,000 to outstanding applicants who have been offered places on one of our MSc programmes. Further information is available on the departmental website.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
The programme will enable students to gain the skills to conduct rigorous analysis, use evidence-based approaches and develop a scientific approach as well as the ability to make sound policy decisions, and to become leaders in modern police forces. Graduates who are serving police officers will gain analytical and other critical skills to progress in their current career. It is likely to lead to further future careers opportunities in:
Employability
The programme is offered mainly to serving police and security personnel with the aim of equipping them to become future leaders and managers. The focus on an evidence-based approach will enable practitioners to become professionals by adopting a scientific approach to effectively tackle crime, security, and law and order problems. The programme aims to enhance strategic thinking skills as well as management and effective leadership skills.
The UCL Jill Dando Institute, of which UCL Security & Crime Science is the core component, is the first research institution in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime through teaching, research, public policy analysis and by the dissemination of evidence-based information on crime reduction.
This programme’s practical and pragmatic approach to shaping successful and forward-thinking practitioners will have great appeal and offers excellent value to police organisations and governments wishing to invest in future leaders.
Seminars and a diverse international student cohort will provide excellent networking opportunities.
LJMU's Advanced Policing programme develops the skills increasingly required by forces as policing moves further towards an evidence-based approach.
This PG Dip in Evidence-Informed Practice is designed for ‘in-service’ criminal justice professionals who want to develop research skills to identify, critically engage with, and reflect on evidence-informed criminal justice policy and practice.
Study for your specialist masters degree at a University ranked 13th in the UK for Law.
