Course description

• You’ll gain advanced understanding of the investigation process, explore contemporary policing and deepen your understanding of criminology and forensics
• You’ll gain unique insights into real-world practices from our experienced teaching team which includes former police detectives and investigators

“Volunteering with Nottinghamshire Police has been invaluable to me. It has allowed me to be involved in the day-to-day activities with a police investigative unit and learn things that will help enormously with my future job applications.” Grace Jolly, BA (Hons) Policing and Investigations graduate

Policing - your questions answered

In the below video, Policing Lecturer, Katherine Hewitt, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Policing at the University of Derby.

If you’re interested in how policing and investigations work, this distinctive degree delivers advanced skills and knowledge which can take you far.

Throughout, the degree brings together the theory, policy and practice of policing and investigations, criminology, forensics and criminal justice, which means you’ll be able to evaluate critically the contemporary challenges facing police officers, criminal investigators and civilian investigators.

With applied learning at the heart of this course, you’ll gain a solid introduction to criminal investigation and a logical framework for understanding investigative processes. Drawing on fascinating case studies, you’ll also explore historical, empirical and theoretical approaches to key issues in evidence gathering and criminal justice.

Hands-on learning

The skills you gain on the course will add substance to your CV and increase your employability in the competitive graduate job market.

There may also be the chance to broaden your perspectives through fieldtrips: in the past, our students have visited settings such as police custody suites, a prison, victim support facilities, courts and various voluntary organisations working within the criminal justice sphere.

Volunteering with the police

We fully support you to apply and become a Police Support Volunteer alongside your studies. This gives you the chance to develop your professional practice and the experience is invaluable if you would like to pursue a career in policing when you graduate.

Police Support Volunteers perform tasks which complement the duties of police officers and police staff investigators. Volunteer roles range from front counter services and administration to following up crime reports with members of the public.

There are rigorous application procedures, including vetting, for Police Support Volunteer roles and we will assist you through the process. We also support students who want to join the Special Constabulary, a force of trained volunteers who go out on patrol and form a vital link between the regular full-time police and the local community.

Expert teaching

You’ll be inspired by a teaching team with a wealth of professional experience in policing and investigation. This ensures your learning is enriched by the latest thinking and ideas.

We pride ourselves on a superb network of contacts – from chief constables and crime commissioners to leading figures in organisations such as the Society of Evidence-based Policing and the British Society of Criminology. Thanks to such strong links, we can offer you an outstanding visiting speaker programme where influential professionals from all fields of policing and investigation share their experiences with you.

Equipment and resources

As a BA (Hons) Policing and Investigations student, you’ll be based on the Derby Campus at One Friar Gate Square and Britannia Mill.

Your learning space offers the perfect environment for innovative and engaging teaching; it includes a replica crown court and interview rooms alongside well-resourced lecture theatres, seminar rooms and social learning spaces. Students have also been able to make use of other specialist facilities at the University such as our forensic crime scene house.

Because you’ll be working alongside students taking courses in subjects such as law, criminology and sociology, there are many opportunities to share knowledge, expertise and experience.

How you will learn

How you are assessed

Assessment is via a range of methods including:

• essays
• decision logs
• investigative strategies
• applied interviewing and evaluations