The Basics
- Criminology is the study of crime, its control and its consequences
- It combines the study of politics, law, psychology, society and culture to understand processes of criminalisation, practices of crime control and prevention
Is this course for me?
Criminology is the study of crime from a social perspective. This includes examining who and why people commit crimes, understanding the impact of the crime and how to prevent criminal activity. Criminologists examine every conceivable aspect of deviant behaviour in order to understand the various impact it has on the criminal, victim and their family and wider society. If this sounds like something that interests you, this could be the course for you.
What will I learn?
Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime:
Focusing on different types of crime, influences on perceptions of crime and why some crimes are unreported.
Unit 2: Criminological Theories:
You will gain knowledge and understanding of why people commit crime, drawing on what you have learned in unit 1.
Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom:
This module will take you through the process of, what happens in the criminal justice system from the moment a crime has been identified to the verdict. Developing both your understanding and skills required to examine information in order to review the justice of verdicts in criminal cases.
Unit 4: Crime and Punishment:
Application of understanding the awareness of criminality, criminological theories and the process of bringing an accused to court in order to evaluate the effectiveness of social control to deliver criminal justice policy.
Anything else I need to know?
This course is assessed using a combination of internal and external assessments. Each year you will carry out a one internal controlled assessment of 8 hours split over 2 days and an end of year formal examination.
Entry requirements
Standard Sixth Form entry criteria, including grade 4 in English Language.
Future opportunities
An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work, sociology and psychology. The qualification is used to support access to higher education degree courses such as:
BA (Hons)/BSc Criminology
BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology
BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
BSc Criminology and Law
Alternatively this qualification will allow you to gain the understanding and skills to consider employment within some aspects of the criminal justice system for example: The National Probation Service, The Courts and Tribunals Service, The National Offender Management Service and the Police.
