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Comparative Criminology

Code: 103952
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Criminology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Gustavo Fondevila Perez
Email :
gustavo.fondevila@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

This course requires a B2 level of English. The language of the course (theory and seminar) is English.

Objectives

-      Understand the methodological problems related to the comparisons of crime across nations.

-      Understand the way in which crime data are collected across nations.

-      Understand the theoretical explanations of the evolution of crime across time and space.

-      Understand how a historical and cultural approach can help to explore differences in crime and the use of punishment in different countries.

Learning outcomes

  1. Working autonomously.
  2. Working in teams and networking.
  3. Ability to analyse and summarise.
  4. Drawing up an academic text.
  5. Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
  6. Effectively using the theoretical foundations of criminology.
  7. Finding and analysing crime databases.
  8. Applying the variety of criminal policies and their foundations in the criminological field.
  9. Inferring the scientific knowledge of criminology in the applied field.
  10. Students must show interest for the scientific updates in the criminological field.
  11. Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.

Contents

1. Introduction


2. The role of theory in comparative criminology


3. Cross cultural differences in criminology


4. Culture and the explanation of crime and victims in comparative criminology


5. Comparing orientations to justice


6. Policing and police cultures.


7. Criminal policies in comparative perspective.


8. The history of victimology: comparative victimology


9. International crimes and international criminal justice system. Transnational crime


10. The future of comparative criminology.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Written assignment 55.5 2.22 1, 3, 4, 6, 11
Lectures 19.5 0.78 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Required readings 55.5 2.22 1
Seminar 19.5 0.78 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

- The course combines lectures and seminars. It requires reading a series of scientific articles for their discussion in class. In the seminars papers and other assignments will be discussed and submitted by the students.

- Before the starting of the course a detailed weekly schedule of activities will be provided.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Seminars participation activities 15% 0 0 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Open questions exam 25% 0 0 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Article summary and presentation 20% 0 0 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Cultural analysis exercice 10% 0 0 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11
Academic essay 30% 0 0 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Evaluation assignments:

- The evaluation takes into consideration:

  • A paper summary and its presentation (20%).
  • Seminars participation activities (15%).
  • Cultural analysis exercice (10%).
  • A final academic essay of the course and its presentation (30%).
  • Multiple-choice exam (25%)

Not assessable

Students will be assessed provided that they have completed a set of activities whose combined weight is at least two-thirds of the total grade for the course. If the value of the completed activities does not reach this threshold, the course instructor may consider the student as not assessable.

Evaluation criteria:

- Essays out of time will not accepted and the student will get a fail mark (0), without possibility of late assignment. Only excuses based on illness or similar reasons may be accepted under proper justification.

- Plagiarism in essays will conduct to a fail mark (0) and the student will lose the right of a new assessment. In case of relapse, the student will obtain a fail mark for the whole course (0) and will lose the right of a new assessment.

- It's necessary to obtain a final mean grade of 5 in order to pass the course.

- A minimum of 80% attendance to lectures and seminars is required to pass the course (only absences due to illness or similar reasons are accepted).

- Classes start on time. Late arrival is not admitted. Also, leaving the class before its end without proper justification is not permitted.

Single assessment system

It will consist of two exams:

1rst) 4 questions on the mandatory reading of the course and the papers of the complementary bibliography.

2nd) Exercise to show the skills to do a comparative criminology analysis.

Restricted use of AI

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in partial or total penalties in the grading of the activity, or more serious sanctions in more severe cases.

Bibliography

Mandatory readings

Aebi M.  & Linde A. (2015). The epistemological obstacles in comparative criminology: A special issue introduction. European Journal of Criminology, 12(4), 381-385. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370815595311

Evans, T. D., Lagrange, R. L., & Willis, C. L. (1996). Theoretical development of comparative criminology: Rekindling an interest. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 20(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.1996.9678559

Friedrichs, D. O. (2007). Transnational crime and global criminology: Definitional, typological, and contextual conundrums. Social Justice, 34(2), 4-18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/29768431

Karstedt, S. (2001). Comparing cultures, comparing crime: Challenges, prospects and problems for a global criminology. Crime, Law and Social Change, 36, 285-308. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012223323445

Liu, J. (2007). Developing comparative criminology and the case of China: An introduction. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X06295774

Marshall, I. H., & Marshall, C. E. (1983). Toward a refinement of purpose in comparative criminological research: Research site selection in focus. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 7(1-2), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.1983.9688765

Nelken, D. (2002). Comparing criminal justice. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan, & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminology (3rd ed., pp. 175-202). Oxford University Press.

Nivette, A. (2014). Legitimacy and crime: Theorizing the role of the state in cross-national criminological theory. Theoretical Criminology, 18(1), 93-111.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480613499793

Sebba, L., & Berenblum, T. (2014). Victimology and the sociology of new disciplines: A research agenda. International Review of Victimology, 20(1), 7-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269758013511657

Complementary references

Cavadino, M. & J. Dignan (2006). Penal systems: A comparative approach. Sage.

Elias, N. (1939/2000). The civilizing process. Blackwell.

LaFree, G. (2021). Progress and Obstacles in the Internationalization of Criminology. International Criminology, 1, 58-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43576-021-00005-2

Law, D. S. (2015). Judicial comparativism and judicial diplomacy. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 927-1036. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2410074

Messner, S. F. (2014). Social institutions, theory development, and the promise of comparative criminological research. Asian Journal of Criminology, 9, 49-63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-013-9175-1

Neapolitan, J. L. (1997). Cross-National Crime: A Research Review and Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Newman, G. R. (1977). Problems of method in comparative criminology. International Journal of Comparative andApplied Criminal Justice, 1(1-2), 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.1977.9688627

Shelley, L. I. (1981). Crime and modernization: The impact of industrialization and urbanization on crime. Southern Illinois University Press.

Szabo, D. (1975). Comparative Criminology. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 66(3), 366-379. https://doi.org/10.2307/1142740

Williams, P., & Godson, R. (2002). Anticipating organized and transnational crime. Crime, Law and Social Change, 37, 311-355. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016095317864

Zvekic, U. (1996). The international crime (victim) survey: Issues of comparative advantages and disadvantages. International Criminal Justice Review, 6, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/105756779600600101

Software

The course does not requires of specific software.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 11 English second semester morning-mixed