CRIMINOLOGY

LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA

Course Overview

The Level 3 Diploma in Criminology offers students the opportunity to understand crime and deviance in society. This qualification is equivalent to one A Level and enables students to display their knowledge and understanding through one assignment per year (50% of final grade) and one external examination (50% of final grade).

The topics the course covers includes:

Types and consequences of under-reported crime. These include domestic violence, hate crime and e-crime.

Theoretical explanations for criminal behaviour including Psychological, Biological and Sociological perspectives

The role the media plays in our perception of crime

The effectiveness of crime prevention strategies and campaigns

welcome Video

Target Audience

The Diploma is designed to appeal to those who are interested in a career in the Criminal Justice system such as Policing, Law, Social and probation work. It is also suitable to those who are interested in either Sociology or Psychology- an interest in current issues is a must. The course is aimed at anyone who is interested in discussions, asking questions and understanding the criminal justice system.

Year 12 Units

Changing Awareness of Crime

Not all types of crime are alike. What different types of crime take place in our society? What kinds of crime exist about which we know very little, or which are simply not reported to the police and the media? How do we explain people's reluctance to come forward about crimes of which they have been the victim? Some crimes which seem inoffensive, such as counterfeiting of designer goods, have actually been linked to the funding of more serious crime such as terrorism and people trafficking; so why do people turn a ‘blind eye’ to these 'mild' crimes? What methods have governments and other agencies used to raise social awareness of these crimes? Many people learn about the fear and fascination of crime from the media, but is the media a reliable source of information? To what extent are we misled by our tastes in programmes and newspapers about crime? Who decides what behaviours should be against the law? Who gathers information about crime? Can this information be trusted? Can we trust our own instincts? Humans tend to judge other's behaviour by a variety of moral principles, not all of which are consistent or based on accurate information. We gain our ideas of morality from a variety of sources and one of the most important is the mass media. Police gather information about crime; but the data can be inaccurate. Criminologists have developed procedures to learn about crime, but these too have their limitations. Knowing about the wide range of different crimes and the reasons people have for not reporting such crimes will provide an understanding of the complexity of behaviours and the social implications of such crimes and criminality. At the end of this unit, you will have gained skills to differentiate between myth and reality when it comes to crime and to recognise that common representations may be misleading and inaccurate. You will have gained the skills to understand the importance of changing public perceptions of crime. You will be able to use and assess a variety of methods used by agencies to raise awareness of crime so that it can be tackled effectively. You will have gained the skills to plan a campaign for change in relation to crime; for example to raise awareness, change attitudes or change reporting behaviour.

Criminological Theories

How do we decide what behaviour is criminal? What is the difference between criminal behaviour and deviance? How do we explain why people commit crime? What makes someone a serial killer, or abusive to their own families? Criminologists have produced theoretical explanations of why people commit crime, but which is the most useful? Are these theories relevant to all types of crime? What can we learn from the strengths and weaknesses of each? How can these theories be applied to real life scenarios and real life crimes? Knowing about the different types of crime and the criminological approaches to theory will give you a sharper insight into the kind of thinking used by experts and politicians to explain crime and criminality. Public law makers are informed by theory and apply these theories to their own solutions to the problem of crime. By undertaking this unit, you will learn to support, challenge and evaluate expert opinion and be able to support your ideas with reliable and factual evidence. At the end of this unit you will have gained the skills to evaluate some criminological theories and know there are debates within the different theories. You will understand how changes in criminological theory have influenced policy. You will also have gained the skills to apply the theories to a specific crime or criminal in order to understand both the behaviour and the theory.

Year 13 Units

Crime Scene to courtroom

What are the roles of personnel involved when a crime is detected? What investigative techniques are available to investigators to help to identify the culprit? Do techniques differ depending on the type of crime being investigated? What happens to a suspect once charged by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)? What safeguards are in place to ensure a suspect has a fair trial? The criminal trial process involves many different people and agencies. Learning about the roles of these will give you a clearer insight into what happens once a crime is detected and the process that leads to either a guilty or non-guilty verdict. There are strict rules as to how evidence is collected from a crime scene and also strict rules governing the giving of evidence in court; learning about these rules will allow you to review the trial process and assess whether the aims of the criminal justice system have been met. You may be familiar with the role of the jury in the Crown Court, but you may not be aware of the many different factors that influence jury decision-making. By undertaking this unit, you will be able to assess the use of lay people in determining the fate of a suspect and evaluate the criminal trial process from crime scene to courtroom. A miscarriage of justice occurs when an innocent person goes to prison and when the guilty person is still free and unpunished. At the end of this unit you will have gained the skills to review criminal cases, evaluating the evidence in the cases to determine whether the verdict is safe and just.

Crime and Punishment

Why do most of us tend to obey the law even when to do so is against our own interests? What social institutions have we developed to ensure that people do obey laws? What happens to those who violate our legal system? Why do we punish people? How do we punish people? What organisations do we have in our society to control criminality or those who will not abide by the social rules that most of us follow? We spend a great deal of taxpayers' money on social control, so how effective are these organisations in dealing with criminality? Most people in our society are law-abiding and unwilling to break laws. Law-breaking is frequently of the petty variety, so serious crime and repeat offending is often restricted to a few people who cannot or will not abide by the rules that most of us consider to be so important. Society has had to develop a complex system of mechanisms, processes and organisations to ensure that people do not break the law. If they do commit crime, society needs to be protected from their behaviour. These social institutions each have different mechanisms, ideologies and policies. You will learn something of their variety, how they work and their effectiveness in preventing and protecting us from criminality. Through this unit, you will learn about the criminal justice system in England and Wales and how it operates to achieve social control. You will have gained an understanding of the organisations which are part of our system of social control and their effectiveness in achieving their objectives. As such, you will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the process of social control in delivering policy in different contexts.

sample lesson

AC1.1 Underreported CrimeHonour Crimes

example work

Example Crim workbook.docx

Student testimonials

Support sessions

Mr Coney runs after school revision sessions on a Thursday for Criminology focussing on exam techniques and subject knowledge.

Higher Education Progression Routes

BSC Criminology

Crime and its impact are at the forefront of current political and social debate. We only have to check social media, switch on the television or pick up a newspaper to see headlines about crime and victimisation and to realise how relevant to everyday life the study of criminology has become. Our Criminology BSc enables you to explore the reality behind these headlines and examine a topic that is relevant, topical and has real, practical application in contemporary society.

BSC Criminology and psychology

Understand the mind of offenders, victims and witnesses, and learn about the theories of crime and criminality on this combined BSc (Hons) Criminology with Psychology degree course.

You’ll get a foundation in the psychology of crime, and enhance your studies by exploring the causes of offending behaviour, responses to crime, and how rehabilitation works.

This course prepares you for a career in areas such as the prison or probation service, criminal justice agencies and victim support.

bsc criminology and sociology

You will learn how to examine how crime, deviance, justice, law, regulation, surveillance and punishment are constructed, maintained and disturb the social order at all levels.

What is defined as crime? Who in society has the power to define this? What are the individual and societal causes of crime and deviant behaviour? Who in society is more likely to commit a crime? Can mass societal change influence criminal behaviour? How does media attention and reporting impact crime and deviance? How are social structures, such as social class, race and gender, related to the way we behave? And do they impact on the way we are treated by the criminal justice system? These are just some of the questions asked by Sociologists and Criminologists, and this joint degree is perfectly positioned to answer them.

Future Careers

detective

Detectives are accredited police officers who work as Serious and Complex Crime Investigators or Specialist Investigators. They're responsible for managing a range of investigations including those concerning robbery, drugs, domestic violence, public and child protection, company fraud, cyber-crime, homicide and counter-terrorism.

As a detective you can work in a number of specialist departments:

criminal investigations department (CID) - handles incidents such as suspicious deaths, serious assaults, robbery, burglary and major property thefts, domestic abuse or racist abuse
fraud squad - investigates company and financial fraud
drugs squad - deals with drug trafficking investigations, which may be long-term and may also involve working with colleagues from other countries
fire arms squad - investigates and responds to offences involving fire arms, including potential hostage situations
child protection department - deals with offences against children
Special Branch - investigates incidents relating to national security and international terrorism.

police officer

As a police officer you'll work in partnership with the communities you serve to maintain law and order, protect members of the public and their property, prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve the quality of life for all citizens. You'll use a range of technology to protect individuals, identify the perpetrators of crime and ensure successful prosecutions against those who break the law.

The key priorities for the 45 police forces in the UK include:

maintaining public order through combating organised crime
countering the threat of terrorism
acting against antisocial behaviour.

Police officers work closely with members of the criminal justice system, social workers, schools, local businesses, health trusts, housing authorities, town planners and community groups to provide advice, education and assistance to those who want to reduce crime or have been affected by crime.

Scene Of Crime officer

As a scene of crime officer, you'll be involved in securing and protecting crime scenes, and collecting evidence from crime scenes, post-mortems and other incidents, such as fires and suspicious deaths.

You'll also be responsible for processing and categorising evidence, so that it can be used in criminal investigations. This might include gathering photographic evidence or physical samples from the scene, such as weapons, fingerprints, clothing or biological evidence.

Scene of crime officers are sometimes known as crime scene investigators or forensic scene investigators.

Student Destinations

This is a picture of the 'social science wall of fame' in UT1. It has the names and courses of all of the students who have gone on to do social science related degree courses since 2016. We encourage our students to think carefully about the degree courses they are going on to. Often suggesting they ensure they do a placement year as part of their degree course. This will improve future employment chances.

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