Your current location:
Degrees To Master Needs Of Modern Investigation
The increasing professionalisation and evolution of the policing sector has become a hot topic.
It is one the University of Derby is addressing with the launch of two new postgraduate qualifications aimed at the modern investigator.
The Masters degrees (MSc) in Criminal Investigation, and in Cybercrime and E-Investigation, are each made up of three stages – postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters.
Criminal Investigation takes the student from initial information gathering through to prosecution, under the instruction of tutors who are largely former investigation professionals themselves.
The focus is on a practical approach, underpinned by ethical and critical considerations.
Derby’s course complements and enhances initiatives within the sector, such as the Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) jointly sponsored by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the National Police Improvement Agency.
Subjects covered during the MSc degree course include:
• information gathering from a wide range of sources
• intelligence management
• assessment and interview of witnesses, victims and suspects
• the handling of methodological and theoretical models of criminal investigation.
The course will look at other sectors using professional investigation techniques – for example corporate and financial investigations, and social and welfare services – as well as policing.
The MSc in Criminal Investigation degree course commences annually in September. It is studied via a combination of weekend sessions and online, so you can combine studying with your current employment.
A ‘sister’ postgraduate degree is the new Masters (MSc) in Cybercrime and E-Investigation. This addresses the current uses of digital technology to commit crime and looks ahead, impressing on the investigator the need to regularly update their knowledge of an evolving scene.
The course gives students an understanding of:
• legal and technical elements of cybercrime (without needing to be a technology insider)
• key skills of cybercrime detection and investigation
• case issues and continuity of evidence
• digital technology’s use in money laundering
• communication of complex information
• ethical and professional considerations
• data protection and intellectual property.
Again the course is taught by current practitioners, in this case in the technical aspects of cybercrime and e-investigation.
The use of cybercrime investigative training both in and out of policing careers is also covered during the degree course.
The MSc in Cybercrime and E-Investigation can be started in September 2011 or January 2012. It can be studied at Derby or online, either full time or part time.
As part of both Masters degrees there will be the opportunity during the Masters stage to research a significant topic within the context of criminal investigation.
The postgraduate degrees cost a total of £3,420 for UK and EU students to complete, if modules are studied wholly or partly on campus, and £6,000 for UK students studying some or all of the modules online.
The entry requirement for both is to at least have a 2:2 class first degree or equivalent, or alternatively for candidates to have substantial and relevant professional experience.
For more information on the Masters degrees, based within the University’s School of Law and Criminology, phone the main office on 01332 591896, or email: law@derby.ac.uk, or see website www.derby.ac.uk/law/criminology/pg
