This course introduces postgraduate students to complex and evolving debates about contemporary policing and, by extension, security. It examines key concepts and theoretical frameworks in a global context, highlighting the dynamic relationship between social theory and situated practice to develop a sociologically informed understanding of policing and security activities.

Drawing on a wide range of academic sources, case studies, and public, media, and cultural discourses, the course encourages students to critically assess the shifting functions and impacts of policing and security activities - including those performed by local and national police forces, as well as transnational, community-based, private and commercial actors.

These ideas are explored in reference to inequality, power and justice, and engage with recent developments, challenges and controversies, such as: democratic policing, legitimacy and accountability, policing protest, use of force, surveillance, new and emerging modes of policing, security and insecurity, and calls to defund or transform policing and security practices. 

10 x 2 hour in-person classes which combine short lecture inputs and seminar activities.

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30% (1,500 words): Mid-term Essay

Students will write an essay, selecting from a pre-set list of essay questions, demonstrating understanding of a key critical theoretical perspective on policing and security.

70% (3,000 words): End-of-Course Case Study

Students will complete a case study that critically examines a contemporary issue related to policing and security, through a sociologically informed and globally aware lens. Students will draw upon academic literature and a range of policy and popular sources to consider a chosen issue in contemporary policing and security, selecting from a pre-set topic list or a bespoke subject agreed in advance with the module convenor.

This course aims to enable students to develop a critical understanding of sociological perspectives on the police, particularly in reference to recent developments and challenges that are facing police forces today.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically analyse and evaluate key theories, concepts, and debates on policing and security in national and global contexts.

■ Integrate and apply sociological and critical perspectives to interrogate how policing and security practices intersect with structures of power, inequality, justice, and social change.

■ Assess and theorise contemporary challenges, controversies, and transformations in policing and security studies, drawing on diverse evidence and perspectives.

■ Compare, contrast, and interpret case studies of policing and security to generate insights into how social, political, and cultural contexts shape practices and their impacts on communities.

■ Synthesize and construct evidence-based arguments about policing, security, and prospects for reform, using academic, policy, and public discourse sources.