Criminology is a rendezvous subject; it brings together a variety of different subjects including sociology, psychology, law and forensic science to explore the world of crime. It asks questions such as how crime is defined and why this definition changes over time/place/culture. Why do people commit crime, and how can we prevent future crime? Criminology examines the world of criminals, as well as the world of criminal justice, including the process of crime scene to courtroom.
This course has been designed to support you in making the next steps into the world of work, or into Higher Education at university. The coursework elements allow for the development of your time management, research and organisational skills. The exam elements allow for the development of the presentation of information in a precise manner and will see you develop your own methods of ensuring information is stored in the long-term memory. Studying criminology will help you to become more effective in the skills above, as well as more employable.
Did you know? Previous students have followed a range of future pathways, including attendance at university to study criminology, law, sociology or forensic science, as well as apprenticeships with the police force.
Look at the following scenarios and consider the following: Would you report this? Do you think the “average” person would report this? Why/why not?
Answer the following questions by taking notes.
What do you think of when you first hear the words crime and deviance?
Can you think of a definition for crime and deviance?
What examples of crime can you think of?
What examples of deviance can you think of?
Research and create a job description/specification for the following two jobs.
SOCO
Police Officer
Take into account the following
Within the UK, there are five aims of punishment: protection, retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation and reparation. Research these aims and record a definition for each.
Create a presentation that examines whether UK prisons are meeting the aims of punishment. To begin with, you may wish to examine how many prisoners re-offend in relation to deterrence.
The Horrible History of The Death Penalty
After finding definitions for each of the aims of punishment watch this documentary about capital punishment and write a short essay between 300 and 500 words on capital punishment and if it should be brought back.
There are a variety of crime documentaries available on the platforms BBC iPlayer and Netflix. A selection you may wish to choose from includes:
BBC iPlayer
Netflix
BBC True Crime Podcast
Crime podcasts are some of the most downloaded and highest recommended podcasts that the BBC has; combining mystery and cold hard facts. Here is a selection of five – be sure to read the synopsis first, as some cases contain forensic gory details!
BBC Crime UK and/or The Guardian Crime UK
You can use the following sites to check the most up to date crime news:
Police UK
You can use this site to search for crime in your area by entering your postcode: police.uk
Prospects UK
Thinking about studying criminology, but not sure what jobs relate to the subject? Take a look at this website.
Click here for your Criminology Textbook
Buy these to take a look at what you will be studying.
One of the earliest modern theories of criminality stated that criminals could be ‘born bad’. This course examines a range of theories which could explain why people commit crime.
In the UK, 75% of prisoners reoffend within nine years of release. This course examines why.
There were 5.8 million criminal offences recorded by the police in 2020 - but what about the ones which weren’t recorded? This course examines those crimes.
The definition of crime changes over time and over place. What does this say about the definition of crime? This course examines this question.
DNA was first used in the UK as evidence in 1987 - it is hard to imagine criminal cases without DNA evidence now, but DNA isn’t perfect. This course examines the strengths and weaknesses of forensic methods.
