Whether you want to work for the police, prison service, security industry, local government or elsewhere in the criminal justice sector, our course will give you a deep understanding of the issues and policies involved in modern policing and rehabilitation.

You’ll have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the police or another service of interest on our work-based learning module. It gives you an insight into working cultures and practices as well as a head start in your chosen career.

Study in Chelmsford – the home of our Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) – and take your first step to a rewarding career in the criminal justice sector.

As a BSc (Hons) Policing and Criminal Justice student at ARU, you’ll develop your knowledge and skills by studying real-life cases and academic research, and taking part in interactive learning.

You’ll debate the most pressing issues facing police forces today, including sexual offences, fraud investigation, counter-terrorism initiatives and cultural diversity. You can also examine the trial process, and practice presenting evidence in front of a judge and jury, in our own on-campus mock courtroom.

We’ll help you work towards your career goals from day one. Our modules, trips, simulations, guest lectures, and work experience opportunities with local police forces and criminal justice practitioners will help you discover where your interests lie and build valuable skills and connections. You’ll also boost your CV as you develop your leadership, interpersonal communication and presentation skills.

Once you’ve graduated, you can continue to develop your skills on one of our Masters degrees, such as MA Criminology and MA Contemporary Policing.

Our graduates go on to work in the police force, probation, prisons and youth justice, as well as the Border Force, the military, security, charities and NGOs, local government, and the public sector more generally. Others are using their skills in areas such as policy, PR, communication and the media.

If you’re already working in the criminal justice sector, you could follow in the footsteps of former students who have progressed their careers to graduate level.

You could also develop a specialism or start a career in research by taking part in our academic shadowing scheme or Cambridgeshire County Council’s violence prevention analysis programmes.