sample itinerary

london criminal justice

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criminal justice studies

Without a written constitution, the United Kingdom has a criminal justice system which is built upon tradition and convention established over centuries

With a predominantly unarmed police force, barristers and judges who continue to sport wigs, Britain presents a fascinating comparison to the Criminal Justice systems found in the USA and other countries of the world. Our unrivaled network of connections within the British CJ system will provide students with exclusive access to the agencies, which together, form one of the most respected criminal justice systems in the world.

Program Highlights

Hotel Stay: 6 Nights

Meals: 6 breakfasts, 2 dinners

Accomodations

 Inns of Court, Royal Courts of Justice, The Old Bailey, Detectives from New Scotland Yard, Visit to Magistrates and Criminal Crown Courts.Opportunities to visit a high security hospital, major incident command centre, police cadet training sessions and a coroners office.

Sightseeing & Seminars

Airport-hotel transfers

Hotel and local taxes

Touring by deluxe private motorcoach, services of expert local tour guides.

Also Included

Sample Itinerary

Day One

Depart U.S.

Depart from US Gateway Airport for the overnight flight to London.

DAY two
Arrive in London

Morning arrival at Heathrow. Meet your Select Travel Service study tour manager. Departing the airport we make the journey into central London. En route to the hotel we embark upon a panoramic tour of the both the City and West End. See such sights as Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and Regents Street. Plenty of photo stops are planned along the way. Early afternoon hotel check in and unpack. Gather together again for an early dinner to review our week ahead, before retiring for the night.

Day Three

Old Bailey/Inns of Court/Royal Courts of Justice

Our walking tour begins outside the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, and an historic court which deals with the major criminal cases in Greater London and some exceptionally high profile cases from other parts of England and Wales. 

Due to time consuming security procedures we do not recommend a visit inside the court, although students are welcome to visit during their leisure time.  An organized program visit to a more accessible criminal court is scheduled later in the program.

Continue to Royal Courts of Justice, more commonly known as the Law Courts and houses the High Court and Court of Appeal. Our final visit is to the Inns of Court which are the professional association of barristers in England and Wales, and all must belong to one of it’s associations. They provide libraries, dining facilities and accommodation. They also hold supervisory and disciplinary power over their members. Our tour will conclude mid afternoon and the balance of the day for independent study or perhaps return to the Old Bailey to hear a case.

Day Four

New Scotland Yard

This morning we spend time with senior detectives from the Metropolitan Police. They are based at their new HQ on the Victoria Embankment in New Scotland Yard, which derives its name from the street name of the original building which now actually houses the police stables. From Robert Peel’s first force established in 1829, the modern day Met has evolved into a force of over 32,000 policing a population of over 7 million over 620 square miles. 

Detectives deliver a series of presentations which can be tailored to suit your own curriculum including cyber security, major event security, Royal and celebrity security and counter terrorism studies. The event typically takes about 2 hours.

This afternoon can either be at leisure or perhaps schedule a walking tour of Royal and Political London.

Day Five

The Court System

Today we spend with an expert guide to examine the court system and we select the courts for their relative ease of access in order to maximize student’s time in the court rooms. 

We begin at Westminster Magistrates Court. The guide will explain the history and role the Magistrates Courts play in the British criminal justice system before students enter the court rooms. 

We then move across London to the other side of the River Thames to Southwark Crown Court, a significant criminal court. Here students will be able to move between court rooms to hear a variety of cases. The day concludes late afternoon.

Day Six

PreSelected Choice of Group Visit

Working with our planning team, faculty can select from a wide variety of activities to best suit their student’s level of study and careers. These are some of the possibilities:

Visit a Volunteer Police Cadet Centre: Part of the Metropolitan Police youth outreach program, the VPC has a unit in every London borough. It is a fully uniformed volunteer force welcoming at risk youth aged 13-18 years of all ethnic and financial circumstances.

Visit a Police Incident Room: British police use Incident Rooms as operational hubs to handle a wide variety of major crimes, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, wide scale accidents and other major events. In a city of 7 million people the Metropolitan Police facilities are some of the finest in the world. Students will be able to visit one such facility.

High Security Psychiatric Hospital:  Available on a selective basis, students will visit one of 3 high security hospitals outside of London. Used to house patients with severe mental diagnosis convicted of serious crimes or awaiting trial. We tour the facility, meet the staff and a Q&A session can also be arranged with selected inmates. Due to the intensity of this visit we will consult with faculty regarding the suitability of the student body. It is a standout visit for those able to undertake it.

History of Social Justice Walking Lecture: Led by one of our expert CJ London guides, this half or full day walking tour will trace the notion of social justice and its natural evolution into the robust modern day system of criminal justice. From the Debtors Prison through the literary lens of Charles Dickens, the advent of Magistrates Courts, the Bow Street Runners and later Robert Peal’s first official police force, the lecture places a truly unique perspective on criminal justice studies.

Day Seven

Tower of London

Morning group visit to the Tower of London. Both a palace and a prison, the Tower stands witness over 1000 years of history. The White Tower is the iconic symbol of the site but highlights for most students include the visit to the Crown Jewels, the Tower torture room and Tower Green and scaffold, site to many executions including 3 Queens, the youngest of whom was just 16. 

The afternoon is at leisure for souvenir shopping and some independent sightseeing. Tonight we gather for a traditional pub dinner and opportunity to discuss and debate impressions on what we have seen this week.

Day Eight

Return Home

Regrettably this morning we bid farewell to England and journey to Heathrow for our return flight home.