Security, Intelligence and Investigative Practice (with integrated foundation year)

The concept of security stretches from keeping assets safe to analysing how global events impact upon our lives then designing measures to address these needs.

Our course provides the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience of practices previously only available within a few public sector professions. Investigative practice skills are widely sought after by a wide range of employers.

Course Overview
Our foundation year is designed to help you to develop confidence and essential university skills which will enable you to progress onto our degree level programme.

Security and intelligence has traditionally been associated with law enforcement and the military whereas our course merges skill sets gained in these environments with all aspects of the commercial world.

The ability to identify and fill gaps of knowledge is a fundamental investigative requirement from crime to any other discipline requiring questions to be answered.

Whether you are engaged in analysis, protective services, any part of the public sector or private business the elements of this course will feature in your professional and private life.

This course provides the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience of practices previously only available within a few public sector professions.

On this course you will...

• Gain a professional and ethical understanding of how to recognise security risks in a variety of environments.

• Learn to recognise intelligence gathering opportunities, access material and data in a legal and ethical manner.

• Learn to analyse threat and design solutions needed to minimise them.

• Explore how to meet the diverse needs of employees.

• Explore investigative techniques and develop a detective skill set.

What you will learn
You will identify the three threads (security, intelligence and investigative practice) this programme is built on. These three threads are interrelated and will help to further develop your understanding of the bigger picture of security, intelligence and investigative practice.

You will learn to use these threads to solve problems in a multivariable environment.

The modules build from introductory, enabling you to have a firm understanding through to a strategic international perspective in line with contemporary security, intelligence and investigative demands.

Year one

• Essential University Skills One
  Develop the academic and professional skills required for effective learning and successful progression through your chosen course.
• Contemporary Issues and the Media
  Explore a range of contemporary issues through the lens of the media that relates to your subject area.
• Introduction to Policing, Criminology and Law
  Gain a basic understanding of the English and Welsh Legal and Criminal Justice system, and Criminology as a discipline.
• Essential University Skills Two
  Further develop the skills acquired in Essential University Skills 1.
• Families, Communities & the Criminal Justice System
  Gain an understanding into the psychological and societal risk factors and pre-cursors to criminality.
• Professional Practice in the Community
  Develop your awareness of community groups and activities to help your understanding of society.

Year two

• Intelligence, Structures and Products
  An introduction to the core concepts essential to understanding the definition of intelligence and its place in the context of 21st century policing.
• Managing Criminal Enquiries
  An introduction to the fundamental theory and practice of criminal investigation.
• Crime Scene Investigation
  Explore techniques involved in crime scene investigation and recovery of evidence as practised by UK forensic agencies.
• Operational Security
  An introduction to the processes that result in security measures being implemented.
• Cyber Security
  An introduction to protective digital practice, using real-word examples to reflect the complexity of cyber crime in an increasingly digital society.
• Evolution of threat
  Explore the history of threat in the form of protest, extremism and terrorist activity, drawing on underpinning literature, enquires and a practical context.

Year three

• Investigative Interviewing
  Explore the importance of human testimony to the gathering of information as a central component of investigative practice
• Serious Organised Crime Investigations
  Develop knowledge of decision making, crime, investigation and offending, examining the nature and development of serious organised crime.
• Covert Operations
  An introduction to covert techniques used within investigations.
• Security Risk Management
  Learn to recognise risk in both physical and electronic environments.
• Digital Intelligence
  Understand technical intelligence gathering operations using cutting edge and bespoke methods to collect and analyse intelligence.
• Practical Action Research (optional module)
  Develop your research skills through an action research project, using independent enquiry skills.
• Forecasting Future Challenges (optional module)
  Develop research skills, recognising and forecasting potential threats to individuals and communities.

Year four

• Global Threats & Risk Principles
  Develop a comprehensive understanding of the repercussions of events in a globalised environment.
• Safeguarding Society
  Understand how to manage vulnerability.
• Freedoms and Protections
  Explore what privacy means in contemporary society.
• Extremism
  Gain a detailed understanding of theory and practice surrounding acceptable protest and illegal extremism.
• Dissertation/ Work Based Project
  Develop an appropriate investigation into a chosen area of practice.

Summative and formative assessment is an important part of the programme curriculum. It is recognised that a breadth of assessment strategies is supportive across the range of student preferences.

Support will be provided to successfully meet the assessments within modules. A selection of assessment methods are employed including:

• Case studies
• Essays
• Reports
• Examinations
• Practical skills assessment
• Poster presentation
• Oral briefings
• Virtual reality supported vignettes