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LAW30300

Academic Year 2025/2026

Punishment and Penal Policy (LAW30300)

Subject:
Law
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Law
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Professor Ian O'Donnell
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module explores the role of the prison in society. It examines approaches that have been taken to penal reform since the publication of the report of the Whitaker Committee in 1985. It takes a comparative approach, considering issues such as solitary confinement, prisoner self-governance, the aims of imprisonment, prison population trends, and restorative justice. It addresses Ireland's history of 'coercive confinement'. A wide range of source material is drawn upon including official statistics, policy papers, personal narratives, and academic studies.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completing this module it is expected that students will be able to:

Analyse how penal policy has developed over the past forty years.
Debate key challenges facing prison systems.
Explore different conceptions of punitiveness.
Place Ireland's experience in an international context.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

96
Total

120

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Students on this module are expected to have read and understood the UCD Academic Integrity Policy and the School Protocol on Academic Integrity. Students must ensure that they comply with all requirements laid down therein and avoid academic misconduct. Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence, or other machine learning technology, in their learning on this module. Because this module is assessed by an unseen, invigilated examination, no formal citation methodology is prescribed.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): 2 hour End of Trimester Closed Book Exam End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No
100
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

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