Criminology

Course summary

By studying Criminology you will develop your understanding of crime and explore different aspects of crime. This will include crime in society, human perceptions of crime and the role of the courts and legal systems within criminal behaviour. Within this course the reasons for why crime is committed is investigated and explanations range from biological to psychological factors. Criminology allows us to question criminal behaviour and we will question whether certain theories are appropriate for certain crimes. As well as this, we look at the need for the criminal justice system. This covers the structure of the legal system, the reasons for why crime is punished and whether ‘miscarriages of justices’ occur and what can be done in order to reduce this from happening. We will question the role of our society in the control of criminal behaviour and what makes us more likely to follow the rules… or in some cases, break them! This course is designed to enhance thinking, analytical and evaluative skills as well as being able to apply learning and knowledge to understand the real world criminal behaviour.