(Hons) Forensic and Criminal Investigation Arden University UK

Overview

On this full online degree (Hons) Forensic and Criminal Investigation degree course from Arden UK you’ll learn about the the natural progress of criminal investigations, policing and forensics, and the roles of the people who work in these fields. 

Inside our immersive virtual crime scenes, you can test your learning in practice and work through some of the scenarios you might face in your future career. \

You’ll be able to take on a range of different roles to navigate crime scenes, the police custody suite, the major incident room, police cells, the courtroom, and the forensics lab. This will help you develop real knowledge of the investigative process and practical skills for future work in the field.

The course starts by taking you on an immersive journey through the entire investigative process, illustrating the natural progress of criminal investigations and the interlinked areas of policing and forensics. 

Through this, you will gain knowledge of how the various personnel involved in an investigation work together to achieve a common goal. Not only is the course delivered by skilled academic staff with years of experience in the field, but the additional use of guest lectures and webinars will provide you with a solid grounding of real practises in modern forensic and criminal investigations.

Just one of the ways this course stands out is our immersive virtual crime world, which allows you to place yourself in real-world scenarios. 

To supplement your learning, this environment will be integrated seamlessly with your modules so that you can put the theory you learn during your lessons, seminars, and workshops into practice. 

You’ll have the opportunity to take on a range of investigative roles as you navigate different environments such as crime scenes, the police custody suite, the major incident room, police cells, the courtroom, the forensics lab, and a burial site where you uncover partially clothed bones. 

Through this, you’ll gain insight into important processes and roles in forensic and criminal investigations, preparing you for future work in the field of forensic investigation.

Key Messages 

• Virtual Reality (Immersive Learning Environment)​
• By using virtual reality, you will be able to immerse yourself in the scenario that is being presented. The academic content is taught within the online platform and the throughout the study weeks there will be seamless integration with the supplementary virtual crime world. Each of the modules studied in each year are linked by offences, offenders, law enforcement and forensic personnel. Each module will incorporate the academic and investigative practices, looking at laws and legislation. You will be assuming a different role as you navigate through the supplementary virtual crime world, investigating various offences that has been presented to you. ​
• 'Real-life' criminal investigation – Not just separate instances, but one interlinked story​
• The modules across all the levels of the degrees link together with either the same criminals, investigating officers, crime scenarios etc. and show the natual progresses of a 'real-life' criminal investigation. It will allow you to see how the various personnel that are involved in an investigation work together with a common goal of apprehending, charging and prosecuting an offender. ​ 
• True to the real-world assessments​
• The assessments on this course are varied including police reports, forensic reports, witness statements, interview presentations, observations from the scenarios to name a few. ​
• They help you gain the real experience that you'll need in your next career step​
• No need to commit straight away! After year 1 is completed, you can choose between the two pathways​
• Forensics or policing – You don't need to make your decision when you start the degree so both routes are open to you throughout your entire first year!​
• Focus on civilian roles in law enforcement​
• This helps with the civilian roles in law enforcement such, rather than the uniformed officer! Whilst you can apply to the police through the degree holders route, this is more about being one of the key parts of that investigative journey​​
• Take the role of many positions in the investigative process​
• During this course you'll take the role of many of the roles needed to complete an investigation. Getting a flavour of how each of them fit into the investigation and learning the skills needed to move forward with this role in te future.​ E.G.:
• Module 1assume the role of the crime scene investigator, collecting evidence from the virtual crime scene. ​
• Module 2. you are the detective assigned to the case. Here you will be introduced to the investigative processes. ​
• Module 3 you will see how a police custody operates, from booking a suspect to conducting an interview ​

• Module 4 you will be given evidence in court as either the CSI or detective.  

Assessments 

Real life assessments​

There will be a variety of assessments throughout the degree both formative and summative. The formative assessments will be a mixture of quizzes, reflective questions and end of topic tests whilst the summative assessment will be a combination of practical observation assessments in the virtual world, reports and traditional assignment questions. ​

The assessments will replicate the reports, interviews and observations that would be conducted as part of a forensic and criminal investigation.