Sociology and Criminology
(Im)mobilities and the Criminal Justice System
Module code: L3130B
Level 6
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Portfolio
Every day, complex systems enable the movement of people, things, knowledge and data from one person to another, from here to there, and from one moment to the next.
The administration of the criminal justice system is no different. Every day, arrest warrants and criminal background checks travel wirelessly from network to network, thousands of prisoners (and their records) travel from prison to court or between prisons, hundreds more leave prison and begin serving probation sentences. These complex, dynamic and intersecting movements are central to the smooth functioning of the justice system and crucial to understanding its many disfunctions.
This module first introduces you to the mobilities approach and then adopts it to critically unpack the operation of the justice system.
Module learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a good understanding of the mobilities approach in the social sciences.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of the role mobilities and immobilities play in the administration of the criminal justice system.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of the internal coordination between different facets (policing, courts, prisons, probation) of the justice system.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of the role structural inequalities and uneven mobilities play in the reproduction of the justice system.