Get ready for Criminology

About the subject

Criminology is the scientific study of crime. The course covers a wide range of topics within the area of Criminology.

In the first year you will compare the difference between crime and deviance, analyse different types of crime and look at how the media impacts on the public perception of crime. You will combine all of this knowledge to design your own crime awareness campaign.
In addition, you will also study explanations of criminal behavior and apply some of these theories to real life criminals.

In the second year, you will research different crime investigation techniques and also learn how evidence is collected, processed and used during the trial process.

If you are interested in studying Criminology at university, or are looking at a career in the police, law or other areas of the criminal justice sector then this course is suitable for you!

Your tasks to complete

To get a head start, you should download the Criminology introduction worksheet and fill it in by doing your own research on the internet.

There is also a “Criminology Taster Session” PowerPoint which you can work through to get an idea of the kinds of things you will be asked to do in class.

We look at a lot of criminal case studies in Criminology- if you are interested in finding out about some of them before you start, there is a YouTube documentary you can watch. The link is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn-VhFHkUoY

Extended reading

Some interesting true crime books:

– The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
– Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd
– The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Carlo