Criminology with Policing

Criminology with policing combines the academic analysis of crime and criminal justice with a focused examination of the police as an institution, a set of practices, and a social force. Criminology asks why crime occurs, who is most at risk of involvement as offender or victim, and how effective different interventions are in reducing harm. Policing, as a specialist component, examines how police organisations are structured and governed, how officers exercise discretion, how different policing strategies have developed and what evidence supports them, and how communities and police relate to each other in different social and political contexts.

Together, the two elements develop graduates with a sophisticated and evidence-based understanding of crime and its control.

At the University of Chester, this three-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study crime and policing in a different national and legal context. Different countries have very different policing models, and comparative study sharpens your analytical understanding of why policing works the way it does in England and Wales. You will develop research skills in criminology alongside the policy and practice knowledge needed to engage critically with debates about crime, punishment, and the role of the police in a democratic society.

Graduates of criminology with policing pursue careers across the criminal justice system and related public services. The police service itself is a natural destination, and the academic understanding of crime, law, and policing this degree develops is an asset in applying for officer roles and progressing within the service. Probation, the prison service, youth justice, community safety teams, and crime research organisations are other common destinations.

The degree also provides a strong foundation for postgraduate study in criminology, social policy, law, or policing studies, and for careers in journalism, research, and public policy focused on criminal justice.