PC4S009 - Operational Planning and Investigation 01 Sep 2016 - 31 Aug 2022 | Version 2

Associated Module Information

Module Code: PC4S009
Module Title: Operational Planning and Investigation
Faculty: Faculty of Life Sciences and Education
Faculty Group: Policing and Criminology
Faculty Sub Group: Psychology
Module Leader: Tim Read
Module Team: Patrick Tucker
First Intended Intake: SEP 2016 Final Year of Intake: 2013
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100486 - policing
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 2
Valid From 01 Sep 2016
Valid To 31 Aug 2022

Module Aims

1. To critically analyse operational command responsibilities at all levels including major crime investigation and the management of critical incidents and of major incidents.

2. To compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of different agencies during a major incident/ civil emergency.

3. Critically evaluate how different agencies plan for and interact during a major incident/civil emergency

4. Reflect upon the importance of contingency planning both within the police organisation and its interactions with other agencies.

Content Summary

The student will explore the relationship between different command levels within the gold, silver, bronze model, looking at some of the conflicts that can exist. Adaptations of this model will also be considered. The 'pure' police command structure will be put into context of multi-agency planning and incident management, and how the roles and responsibilities of different agencies support each other. The student will critically analyse the planning process and the products needed from such a process if successful management of incidents is to take place. The production of command protocols, memoranda of understanding and joint operational plans will be examined in depth. Students will critically analyse historical cases identifying good and bad practise and showing how it would be applied in their current or future roles. Students will be expected to design an operational strategy for a given situation and also to design tactics to support a given strategy. The nature of major incidents will be explored including their financial impact and how that can be managed and shared. . The wider policing impacts of major investigations will be addressed and students will be expected to design policing strategies to mitigate those impacts on community confidence. There will be a requirement to identify and produce a contingency plan for an event that is deemed 'reasonably foreseeable' area that will be developed in terms of risk management. A clear understanding of both risk assessment and risk management in the stages of both major and critical incidents.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 24
Seminar 24
Independent Study 56
Directed Study 94
Formative Assessment - Scheduled 2
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Critically analyse operational command responsibilities at all levels including major crime investigation and the management of critical incidents and of major incidents.
LO2 Analytically contrast the roles and responsibilities of different agencies during a major incident/ civil emergency.
LO3 Critically evaluate how different agencies plan for and interact during a major incident/civil emergency
LO4 Critically review and evaluate contingency planning within the police and partner agencies at a strategic level.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Oral Assessment (CW) Presentation (CW) 1 Produce an operational briefing at a strategic level for a major event, including relevant command protocols, the briefing being audio-visually recorded for assessment. 20 N/A 50 No 40
Written Assignment (CW) Report (CW) 1 Using a set of circumstances provided, produce a critical strategic response document considering a number of possible responses, including the strengths and weakness of each scenarios 0 3000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Presentation (CW) 1
Report (CW) 1

Reading List

De Geus, A.P. (2002): The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment. Harvard Business School

Goleman, D., Boyatizis, R.E., McKee, A. (2002): The New Leaders: Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results. Little Brown

Leider, R. J. (1997): The Power of Purpose. Berrett-Koehler

Martin, Roger (2007): How Successful Leaders Think. Harvard Business Review June 2007 pp62-67

Middleton, J. (2007): Beyond Authority: Leadership in a Changing World. Palgrave Macmillan

Ashworth, A. (1998): Should the police be allowed to use deceptive practices? 114 Law Quarterly Review, January, p. 108.

Kleinig, J. (1990): Teaching and Learning Police Ethics: Competing and Complementary Approaches. Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 18, No. 1, page 1-18

Neyroud, P. & Beckley, A. (2001): Policing, Ethics and Human Rights. Willan Publishing, Devon

Van Vellsor, E. & Ascalon, E. (2008) Role and impact of leadership development in supporting ethical action in organisations. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 17 no. 2, 2008, p.187-195.

Hoogewoning, F.C. (Editing) (2006): Vision on Policing. Dutch Police Institute, The Hague

Newburn, T. (2003): Handbook of Policing. Cullompton, Devon Willan Publishing

Green, J. (1996): Words apart: Language of Difference. Kyle Cathie Ltd

Laming, (2003): The Victoria Climbie Inquiry. HMSO

Walklate, S. (2004): Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice. Willan Publishing, Devon

Home Office UK: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Council of Europe: www.coe.int

Europa: http://europa.eu

FBI: www.fbi.gov

Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/

Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary: http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/

Institute for Public Policy Research: www.ippr.org

Migration Watch: www.migrationwatch.org

Policy Exchange: www.policyexchange.org

Research Development Statistics: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds