Summary of content

This module is offered to level 3 students in place of a substantive taught module. It can be taken in either Trimester A or B, although each student takes the module in only one trimester.
The module offers the opportunity for those students interested in the degree route into policing (on the Criminology/Policing pathway) to gain professional experience through experiential learning.
In order to take this module, students must have already applied for and been accepted to (or already be volunteering for) Police Scotland's Special Constabulary, and as such this is a prerequisite for the module. It is important to note that being accepted into the Special Constabulary is entirely dependent on Police Scotland, which has stringent recruitment and vetting procedures. If students are not accepted as volunteers in the Special Constabulary, they cannot take this module.
The module allows students to use their practical experience of both training for, and working as a volunteer Special Constable, as the basis for professional and personal development and reflection.
The module requires a high level of independent work and study, and involves students keeping a reflective journal of their training and/or volunteering experiences. Journal reflections will be made in relation to academic research on relevant aspects of policing, for example, community policing or working with young people and relevant key concepts such as 'cop culture' or procedural justice.
The module is organised as a structured learning experience, with students undergoing training externally (with Police Scotland) which they will use as a basis for preliminary reflections and identification of potential areas of study to follow up with reference to academic literature, in order to frame their practical experience, and subsequent critical reflections on this.
This module incorporates aspects of PRME-related issues such as individual and professional responsibility and accountability ethics and values gender and human rights.

Module structure

Assessment methods