6 ECTS credits
150 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 1023474CER for all students in the 2nd semester at a (C) Bachelor - specialised level.
In this course, we study crime as a political construct. In a first part, we discuss the most important evolutions in crime control policy in Belgium from World War II to the present day, including the international context in which these evolutions have emerged. In a second part, we look at how policy choices are made and we focus specifically on the issue of policy innovation. In a final part we look at contemporary government strategies to organize society and create desired outcomes in crime control (“social engineering”). We do this on the basis of specific cases in which we study the possibilities and limits of criminalization, decriminalization, prevention, but also more recent and subtle forms of behaviour modification.
This course has a daytime and evening study option (for working professionals).
All further information about the content of the course, the study material and the exam will be made available through the e-platform CANVAS.
At the end of this course students:
1. have knowledge of the most important evolutions in crime control policy in Belgium from the Second World War until today and are able to frame them in a broader international context.
2. understand how policy choices and policy innovation in crime control are the outcome of a complex interplay of intellectual ideas and socio-economic, political or cultural processes.
3. have a thorough understanding of the possibilities and limits of social engineering in crime control.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Written exam with open questions.
More information about the exam is provided at the start of the semester via the e-platform CANVAS.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Criminology: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Criminology: Instroomplan 2 (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Criminology: Instroomplan 3 (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Criminology: Instroomplan 4 (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Criminology: Instroomplan 5 (only offered in Dutch)