45208 - Security Policies

Learning outcomes

The course aims to approach the issue of security from many points of view.

At the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyze different security strategies applied to different contexts.

Course contents

Security Policies is an advanced course that will address the various issues related to law enforcement and the enforcement of laws and regulations within the borders of Western countries, with particular attention to the Italian case. The main objective is to master the complexity of security-related issues in a modern democracy following the studies in sociology of policing. This entails analyzing the evolution and functions of the police in conjunction with understanding concepts such as security, order, prevention, and repression. The course will provide a historical-sociological-criminological overview of security functions in Western countries and will analyze the roles of various security agents, particularly delving into different models of policing from a comparative perspective with attention to the professional culture of public security officials. Approaches, underlying trends, postures, and main paradigms of crime prevention strategies will be discussed.

Readings/Bibliography

• Battistelli, La sicurezza e la sua ombra. Terrorismo, panico, costruzione della minaccia, Donzelli, 2016.

Fabini, Gargiulo, Tuzza, Polizia. Un vocabolario dell’ordine, Mondadori 2023

• Campesi, Che cos’è la polizia. Un’introduzione critica, DeriveApprodi, 2024

• Philip Rawlings – Policing before the police (2008) [provided on Virtuale]

• Other texts, articles, and materials will be periodically provided on Virtuale.

Choice of Volumes (at least one compulsory for attending and non-attending students):

• Tuzza, Il dito e la luna. Ordine pubblico tra Polizia e potere politico, un caso di studio, Meltemi, 2021

• Fabini, Polizia e migranti in città. Negoziare il confine nei contesti locali, Carocci, 2023.

Note: attending students do not need to study all the texts indicated in full, but they must prepare some chapters indicated in class.

 

Bibliography for Erasmus:

• Deflem, The Handbook of Social Control, Wiley, 2018 (available online through the university resources).
• Philip Rawlings, Policing before the Police (2008) [provided on Virtuale].
• As an alternative to Deflem, for French native speakers: Jobard, DeMaillard, Sociologie de la police. Politiques, organisations, réformes, Armand Colin, 2024.

Teaching methods

Lectures, group discussions, multimedia materials viewing, periodic exercises, individual and/or group presentations by participants on the topics covered.

Assessment methods

The final assessment for attending students is carried out through a group exercise activity (20%), a written test (50% with 3 open questions), and a final oral examination (30% on a chosen book), which will ascertain the acquisition of expected knowledge and skills. For non-attending students, a single written test (with 6 open questions) will be proposed covering the topics of the compulsory texts plus one of the two volumes of choice. For all students, the final evaluation will be in thirtieths. The tests are passed if the acquired score is at least 18 points. The content of the written test is evaluated with reference to the combination of the following 3 factors: 1) adherence of the response to the assigned question; 2) argumentative and terminological correctness; 3) quality of the explanation provided and, if applicable, presence of appropriate exemplifications.

The student's ability to navigate sources and bibliographic material will be highly valued; moreover, critical reasoning and questioning of approaches and theories demonstrating analytical and reflective capacity on the topics covered by students will be appreciated. Specifically, an in-depth understanding of the topics covered in the course, accompanied by a critical use of the acquired knowledge, along with strong expressive skills and the use of specific language, will be rewarded with very good or excellent grades (27-30/30). A predominantly mechanical or rote knowledge of the subject, limited synthesis and analysis skills, and language that is not always precise will result in fair grades (22-26/30). The presence of gaps in preparation and inadequate language – even within a context of basic knowledge of the exam material – will lead to grades close to the minimum passing mark (18-21/30). Finally, significant gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language, and difficulty navigating the course materials will be evaluated negatively, with grades below 18/30

Participants in the Erasmus and Overseas exchange programs must contact the professor at the beginning of the lessons. They can choose to take the exam in either oral or written form. The oral exam is conducted in Italian, while for the written exam, it is possible to use one of the following three languages: Italian, French, or English.

Teaching tools

PC and videoprojector. Web resources.

Links to further information

http://www.cirvis.eu

Office hours

See the website of Simone Tuzza