This module employs a range of multimedia sources and engaging activities to immerse you in key issues and debates relevant to the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The module will focus on a range of criminal offences, such as murder and theft, using real case studies, as well as aspects of criminal defences. You'll also address themes of law reform, campaigning, inequality and human rights.
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | W111 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 1 |
| SCQF level | 7 |
| FHEQ level | 4 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 4 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| 2 Interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs) | |
| No examination | |
| No residential school | |
The module begins by discussing a selection of myths in criminal law, clarifying how and whether these ring true, for example, whether all criminal trials involve a jury. You'll see how cases are brought to court and why many crimes are never prosecuted at all.
You'll be introduced to:
The final part explores youth justice, miscarriages of justice and double jeopardy. This will allow you to engage with a critical review of criminal law and help develop skills needed for onward study.
Studying this module will also help familiarise yourself with aspects of criminal defences, and with a particular focus on self-defence and duress.
Throughout the module, you'll be encouraged to engage with themes of law reform, campaigning, inequality and human rights through a range of multimedia sources, interactive activities and module materials. You'll also have opportunities to develop key skills such as reading for understanding, note-taking and summary writing.
The criminal law of England and Wales and the skills developed throughout this module form a compulsory part of any career path into legal practice. The subject knowledge and skills will prepare you for any career in law.
If you intend to use this module as part of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and you hope to enter the legal profession, you should read our Careers in Law information. There are different entry regulations into the legal professions in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet these requirements.
This is a key introductory OU level 1 module. OU level 1 modules provide core subject knowledge and study skills needed for higher education and distance learning. It will give you the foundation knowledge and study skills to study law at a more advanced level (OU levels 2 and 3). By the end of the module, you will be expected to be working at the level required of first-year undergraduate students.
You will be provided with access to Complete Criminal Law: Text, Cases and Materials 8th edition (Loveless, Allen and Derry) and a module website, which includes:
You'll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They'll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. Where possible, we'll make recordings available. While they're not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate.
The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone. The Accessibility Statement below outlines what studying this module involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
All of this module's study materials are online. Online materials are composed of pages of text with images; audio/video clips of less than 10 minutes (with transcripts/subtitles); diagrams; interactive media; animations; and multiple-choice self-assessed quizzes. Online materials also include links to external resources and online forums. We provide downloadable materials for all module content.
This module provides online tutorials. Although not compulsory, tutorials will help you consolidate your learning.
You'll be required to work with other students, but we will not assess this work. This includes looking at, and commenting on, others' work; reflecting on others' comments on your work; and/or working together with fellow learners on a task.
The study materials contain a considerable number of diagrams, graphs and photographs. Reading and interpreting these is an important part of the study of this module. We provide descriptions for essential figures.
In this module, you'll be working with specialist reading material such as case reports and legislation which will be presented online.
This module has tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs) and an end-of-module tutor-marked assignment (emTMA).
You'll receive feedback from your tutor on your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs). This will help you to reflect on your TMA performance. You should refer to it to help you prepare for your next assignment.
We structure all University modules to a set timetable and you'll need time-management skills to keep your studies on track. We'll support you in developing these skills.
Criminal law and the courts starts twice a year – in February and October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2025 and February 2026. We expect it to start for the last time in February 2029.
This course is expected to start for the last time in February 2029.