What is the role of the police in dealing with crime?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify who the police are and explain the role of the police in tackling crime.
Key learning points
- The police are one part of the justice system of the UK.
- The police protect life and property, maintain order, bring offenders to justice and prevent crime.
- The three main police powers to tackle crime are stop and search, arrest and entry, search and seizure.
Keywords
Crime - an illegal act that is punishable by law
Law - rules, usually made by Parliament, that are used to order the way in which a society behaves
Police - a public force that helps keep the community safe; they work to prevent and investigate crimes, enforce laws and maintain order in society
Common misconception
The police make up the whole of the justice system.
The police are part of the justice system. There are three layers to the justice system: laws, courts and the police.
Teacher tip
Help pupils see the police as a key part of the justice system. Use real-life examples to show how they protect people and property, and discuss why powers like stop and search or arrest are important for safety and justice.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is it called if you break the rules in an Act of Parliament?
Q2.Who can potentially be a criminal?
Q3.Which of the following is not one of the three main factors that impact criminal behaviour?
Q4.One of Parliament’s key purposes is to make ...
Q5.Match the part of Parliament to its description.
Q6.Which one of the following describes the key word illegal?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Complete this sentence by selecting the correct answer below: Police ...
Q2.Match the role to its description.
Q3.The police are part of the justice system. How many layers are there to the justice system?
Q4.There are different types of police. These include:
Q5.The College of Policing identifies how many key roles of the police?
Q6.Match the word to the definition.
To help you plan your 7 citizenship lesson on: What is the role of the police in dealing with crime?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 citizenship lesson on: What is the role of the police in dealing with crime?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 citizenship lessons from the What is crime? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.