KRIM4963 – Crime and Technology
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
Technology is affecting all areas of today’s society and criminal actions are no exception. In this course, we will discuss various aspects of ways in which technology affects several aspects of crime, such as how crimes are committed, what crimes are committed, who is committing them, who are the victims, and how to prevent crime. An important aspect to the course is to use criminological and sociological theory to discuss recent empirical research on crime and technology. This includes theories such as subcultural theory, Bourdieu’s theory of practical sense, actor network theory, routine activity theory, rational choice, and cultural criminology. Examples of crimes that will be discussed are phishing, harassment, sexual crimes, violent crimes, and sales of illegal goods (drugs, weapons). The course also discusses the challenges technology has on the criminal justice system and policing.
More specifically, the course will start with an introduction to key texts in understanding crime and technology, looking both at early understandings of the phenomenon and recent developments. It then introduces various aspects of cybercrime, both crimes that are technology-dependent and technology-facilitated. This is then expanded on by looking at ways in which technology affects crimes more widely, such as through establishing social networks or video-filming violent events. We also look into the importance of human actors in cybercrime. This leads into a discussion of connections between the online and the offline, where we look at the use of social media in street cultures. The use of various forms of technology in crime leads to several challenges for the criminal justice system, among them the definition of certain laws, global challenges, etc.
The course also includes texts on policing in a digitalized society with examples of crime prevention, police intelligence, and the use of predictive policing. The course ends with looking into the latest research and reflections made towards the future.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
At the end of the course, you are expected to have thorough knowledge of
- How technology enables new forms of crimes
- How technology facilitates traditional crimes
- How the digitalization of everyday life affects deviant behavior
- The role of human actors in technology-depended/facilitated crimes
- How the constant development of new technologies affect crimes
- How communication in social media impacts criminal groups
- How the use of technology in crime challenges the criminal justice system
- How the police use social media and other technology for crime prevention, information gathering, and to predict crimes
Skills
You will:
- Learn to critically discuss ways in which technology affects illegal actions
- Learn to interpret, analyze and critically discuss scholarly texts on crime and technology, including texts on the criminal justice system and policing
- Apply the learned contents to discuss possible future developments in the field of crime and technology, both in relation to real life events and criminological/sociological theory
Competences
You will:
- Enhance your capability to use key criminological and sociological theories to discuss crimes in relation to technology
- Be able to use, and critically discuss, various concepts related to crime and technology
- Enhance your capability to reflect on ways technology affects people’s everyday lives in relation to crime
- Deepen your knowledge of how to research crimes related to technology
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
No obligatory prerequisites beyond the minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway. It is an advantage to be familiar with social sciences.
Overlapping courses
10 credits overlap with KRIM2963 – Crime and Technology
Teaching
There will be eight lectures taught in English.
Examination
Students are graded on the basis of a 4-day take-home exam. Size: Maximum 4000 words.
Front page, table of contents (optional) and bibliography are not included in the word limit. If footnotes are used in the text (at the bottom of each page), they are included in the word limit. Exam papers exceeding the word limit will not be accepted.
Any exam at the University of Oslo are being checked for both correct word count and incidents of cheating.
Use of sources and rules for citing
You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and the use of sources and citations. If you violate these rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating. You can read about what the university considers cheating, and the consequences of cheating here.
General rules on cheating and plagiarism apply during all exams. You must provide a reference whenever you draw upon another person’s ideas, words or research in your answer to the exam question(s). You cannot copy text directly from textbooks, journal articles, court judgments etc. without highlighting that the text is copied. Verbatim quotes must be put in quotation marks, italicised or otherwise highlighted to clearly mark that they are not the candidate’s own words. Failure to cite sources or highlight quotes in your exam answer constitutes a breach of exam regulations and will be regarded as cheating.
Digital home examination
The home examination is conducted in the digital examination system Inspera. You will need to familiarize yourself with the digital examination arrangements in Inspera.
Read more about home examinations using Inspera.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English.You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Marking criteria
This guide is used by examiners for grading this course.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.