B8290 - CRIME AND (IN)SECURITY IN EUROPE

Learning outcomes

This undergraduate module provides students with an understanding of the complexities surrounding crimes, national and international security, the process of securitisation, and the rise of human insecurity within a European context. Students will develop analytical skills to evaluate the impact of various types of crime, such as organised crime, cybercrime, terrorism, and the radicalisation of fringe movements on European societies, economies, and political structures. Additionally, students will assess the effectiveness of different crime prevention and security policies and structures implemented at local, national, and EU levels, considering their implications for civil liberties, human rights, and collective insecurity. Through comparative lenses, students will examine crime trends and security challenges across various European countries, taking into account cultural, legal, and socio-economic factors. They will also gain research skills, enabling them to understand how social research methodologies can support synthesising information from diverse sources at European levels. The module encourages an interdisciplinary and critical perspective, allowing students to integrate insights from criminology, sociology, political science, and law to develop a holistic understanding of the issues at hand. Lastly, students will reflect on the ethical implications of crime and security realities and practices in Europe, addressing issues of social justice, inequality, and the balance between security and freedom.

Course contents

The course will be articulated in three modules:

First module: Human Security and Crime

This introductory module will be an introduction to the paradigms of security, at state and international levels, with specific emphasis on the concept of human security, as complementary concept. In this module, questions on whose security and security for whom will be central to the discussion, challenging the notion of borders. In this module we will also introduce the concept of European ‘serious’ criminality, which challenges the paradigms of state, international and human security. The topics of this first module are the following:

• ⁃Security: for whom? By whom?
• ⁃State and International Security
• ⁃Borders and Security in Europe
• ⁃Human Security
• ⁃European ‘serious’ criminality and the challenges to security

  Second Module: European ‘Serious’ Crimes and (In)Security in Europe

  This module will reflect on the process of securitisation, by looking at some of the key crime types that pose a threat to security in Europe. We will look at these crimes through the lenses of the human security paradigm, to understand how they are ‘securitised’ and to capture the insecurity that originates from their securitisation. The topics of this second module are the following:

• ⁃Terrorism, Extremisms, Radicalisation
• ⁃War and state crime
• ⁃Urban Violence and Political Unrest
• ⁃Organised Crimes
• ⁃Environmental Crimes and resource security
• ⁃Mobility/Migration-related crimes

  Third Module: Responses, securitisation and prevention

  This module will focus on some of the institutional responses to security and insecurity in Europe, by presenting the work done by law enforcement and judicial institutions in Europe (such as Europol). This module will reflect on some specific areas of interest to showcase the conflation between security and crime prevention as core element of the European strategy against European ‘serious’ criminality. In this module students who attend the course will be asked to ‘approach’ the case studies in the remaining chapters of the textbook not specifically approached in module 1 and 2, by applying the human security paradigm to case studies. Possible topics of this third module are:

• ⁃The challenges of European policing
• ⁃High risk criminal networks mobility
• ⁃Space security
• ⁃Maritime Security

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students (attending at least 70% of classes - monitored)

The core topics for module 1 and 2 are covered in the textbook of the course:

• Rossi and Riemann (2024) Security Studies: an Applied Introduction, SAGE.

  Module 1 is covered in the textbook Part I: Security, History, Theories and Institutions (Chapters 1-5) and Module 2 topics correspond to specific chapters of the textbook Part II: Security Challenges (7, 8, 9, 14, 17, 18, 20).

  For Module 3, students who are attending the course will be given ad-hoc materials in class in the form of case studies from chapters in the textbook that have not been approached in module 1 and 2 and they will be asked to conduct their research in class workshopping suitable reading materials to ‘solve’ the case study. A preparatory reading is required:

• Hansen, H. K., & Uldam, J. (2022). Assembling Transnational Policing: Europol’s Anticipatory Governance. Global Society, 36(2), 281–299. - Online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2021.2021146

  For NON attending students:

  In addition to what stipulated for attending students, students who are NOT attending shall study and prepare by reading the whole textbook

• Rossi and Riemann (2024) Security Studies: an Applied Introduction, SAGE.

In addition the students should prepare at least two of the following extra readings (if there are problems with accessing them, please contact the professor):

• Hansen, H. K., & Uldam, J. (2022). Assembling Transnational Policing: Europol’s Anticipatory Governance. Global Society, 36(2), 281–299. - Online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2021.2021146
• Sergi, A., & Rizzuti, A. (2023). Anti-mafia cross-border: Conceptual and procedural asymmetries in the fight against Italian mafias in Europe. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 17Online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paac047
• Nøkleberg, M. (2023). Policing global hubs: Balancing the imperatives of security and trade. The British Journal of Criminology, 63(3), 709-726.
• Curtis, J., & Oxburgh, G. (2023). Understanding cybercrime in ‘real world’policing and law enforcement. The Police Journal, 96(4), 573-592.
• Bachiller López, C. (2023). Border policing at sea: Tactics, routines, and the law in a Frontex patrol boat. The British Journal of Criminology, 63(1), 1-17.
• Adebayo, G. O. (2021). Counter-radicalization policies and policing in education: making a case for human security in Europe. Heliyon, 7(2).

Teaching methods

The course is taught in person in class; lectures also include practice, review and discussion sessions. Each lecture provides a reference framework for the topics covered with the support of summary slides, video and audio materials, case studies; these materials are made available to students on the Unibo Virtuale platform. Participation in group discussions is actively encouraged.

Assessment methods

For attending students (attending at least 70% of classes - monitored)

Students who attend the course in person will have an in-class evaluation during the third module. In particular, they will be asked to conduct a problem mapping exercise (from the topics of the module and within the guidelines of the textbook) using the Human Security framework; assessing the global-local criminality described; understanding the insecurity drivers; imagining the European responses. This will be done through a PowerPoint presentation or an oral report in class (5-8 mins approx, 5-6 slides or 800-1000 words spoken text). More details on preparation will be provided in due course. The maximum score achievable in each test is 30/30; the evaluation is considered passed with a score equal to or higher than 18/30. The intermediary evaluation will count towards 40% of the final mark.

If a student obtains an insufficient grade in this intermediary evaluation, before the exam session they will have to remedial presentation on the podcast. Access to the oral exam will be subject to passing the recovery presentation and cannot be postponed to a subsequent exam session.

The passing grades obtained in the intermediary evaluation will remain valid until the September 2026 exam session included, or until the last exam session of the current academic year.

For the 2025-26 academic year, the intermediary evaluation is expected to be held in December 2025, and the lecturer reserves the right to confirm this at the beginning of the lesson period.

The oral exam (60%) consists of an interview to verify the learning of the contents of the lessons, textbook chapters and case studies, their correct presentation and the ability to make connections between the different areas or problems.

For NON attending students:

Students not attending the classroom will have an extended reading list as detailed above. During the exam day there will be a written test. Access to the rest of the exam will be subject to passing the test which will be passed with a score equal to or higher than 18/30 (max 30). The oral exam consists of an interview to verify the learning of the contents of the lessons, textbook chapters and case studies, their correct presentation and the ability to make connections between the different areas or problems. The preparation of those students who demonstrate that they have acquired knowledge, analytical skills and connection of the main events and phenomena relating to European ‘serious’ criminality and (in)security in Europe will be assessed as excellent/very good. The assessment will be graded in proportion to any gaps demonstrated by the student with respect to the aforementioned knowledge and skills; in the event of serious deficiencies in preparation, an insufficient assessment may be assigned.

Please note: During the exam session, the written test and the interview take place on the same day and it is not possible to "keep" the sufficient grade obtained in the presentation for a subsequent exam session.

Teaching tools

Projector and computer – slides and other materials for lectures will be on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Sergi