Criminology

Year 12 Course Content

Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime - covers: the analysis of different types of crime (e.g. white-collar crime, moral crime, state crime, technological crime), the reasons that certain crimes are unreported, consequences of unreported crime, media representations of crime (e.g. newspapers, TV, films, social media, etc.) and its impact on the public perception of crime, methods of collecting statistics about crime and their usefulness and campaigns for change (e.g. changes in the law, policy, awareness, attitudes, funding, etc.). 

Unit 2: Criminological Theories - covers: criminal behaviour and deviance, the social construction of criminality, biological theories of criminality (e.g. genetic theories, physiological theories), individualistic theories of criminality (e.g. learning theories, psychological theories), sociological theories of criminality (e.g. Marxism, interactionism and realism), policy development and social change.

Year 13 Course Content

Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom - covers personnel involved in criminal investigations (e.g. police officers, crime scene investigators, forensic scientists, pathologists), investigative techniques (e.g. forensic techniques, surveillance techniques, profiling techniques), how evidence is processed (e.g. physical evidence, testimonial evidence), the rights of individuals in criminal investigations (suspects, victims, witnesses), the role of the Crown Prosecution Service, trial processes (e.g. bail, courts, appeals), key influences affecting the outcomes of cases (e.g. evidence, witnesses, barristers, media) and the use of laypeople in criminal cases (e.g. juries, magistrates).

Unit 4: Crime and Punishment - covers processes for law-making, organisation of the criminal justice system, models of criminal justice, forms of social control (e.g. rational ideology, coercion, fear of punishment, control theory, etc.), aims of punishment (e.g. retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence), forms of punishment (e.g. imprisonment, community punishment, financial punishment) and the effectiveness of the main agencies of social control (police, judiciary, prisons, probation).

Assessment

The course is assessed through a combination of written exams and controlled assessments. There are four units in total. Each one counts as 25% towards the final grade. 

Unit 1 and Unit 3 are controlled assessments. Each one lasts 8 hours and is completed in February. They are both internally assessed and then verified by the exam board.

Unit 2 and Unit 4 are assessed through written exams in the summer of  year 12 and year 13.

In these exams you will need to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the criminal justice system, social and probation work and the social sciences.