Criminology

 
 

The Criminology course offers learners the opportunity to engage with an interesting and stimulating mix of the other Social Science disciplines. This is designed to further widen the range of courses offered in the Social Sciences department and to respond to the popularity of our courses at post 16.  There are Sociological theories about crime and deviance, Psychological explanations for offending and the processes of responding to crime from the criminal justice perspective that draws upon the expertise of the Law department. As part of the course, students will look into the different types of crimes, then analyse which groups in society may be more likely to be victims or perpetrators of these crimes. They will examine why crimes may go unreported, and the impact that the media has on public perceptions of such crimes, as part of which they will design their own campaign for a change to the law. They will gain a rounded knowledge of the roles that different professions have in the criminal justice process, and the investigative techniques used by each of these, as well as what happens to offenders once they have been found guilty, and why we sentence these offenders in a multitude of ways.

There is a strong aspect of the applied nature of criminology, this brings some challenges – such as the depth of some case studies or challenges to what we understand about ourselves. Our approach to teaching and learning builds upon the science of learning, our curriculum is naturally spaced to allow for the interleaving of knowledge. There are regular opportunities for both low stakes knowledge reviews and formal assessments of progress. We integrate the 4Rs into our classroom practice and more extensively into our revision frameworks. Criminology is assessed partially in a controlled assessment form, and with public examinations. This means that the learners must develop the full range of skills for examinations, but also the depth of knowledge required in centre assessed work.

Subject Overview