Criminology
Our aim is to develop knowledgeable, informed and aware students of Criminology who will leave the course with a depth of knowledge and interest in the subject that will remain with them into the future.
We ensure this through an ambitions and rich Criminology curriculum, which will immerse students in the subject and ensure that they finish the course with an excellent understanding of a range of topics and skills which will enable them to study the subject at a higher level and will be the basis for a potential career in one of the many related fields of employment.
The study of Criminology leads to an enquiring and critical outlook on the world that can also be applied in other subjects and in students’ future endeavours. These skills are honed and developed progressively through the curriculum to create Criminology students who are confident in communicating their views, both in writing and orally.
The curriculum is structured to take pupils through a detailed study of the key elements of crime and criminal behaviour. A range of topics are studied, ranging from theories regarding the causes of crime to the detection and punishment of criminal behaviour. The content is engaging and interesting and students enjoy the course.
Course Details
Applied Diploma in Criminology (equivalent to an A Level) – WJEC Specification
https://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/criminology-level-3/#tab_keydocuments
Course Description
The subjects chosen have been designed to give a breadth of knowledge across a range of topics related to crime, criminality and the detecting and punishment of crime. The course teaches the necessary skills and understanding which would be needed by students planning to progress to undergraduate study at a UK higher education establishment, particularly (although not only) in the same subject area.
Programme of Study
The course is divided into four units:
Unit 1 – Changing Awareness of Crime
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.
Unit 2 – 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?
Unit 3 – 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?
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.
Unit 4 – 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?
Through this unit, you will learn about the criminal justice system in England and Wales and how it operates to achieve social control.
Assessment
The course is assessed in two ways:
1) External Examination
2) Internal Controlled Assessment
The following units will be externally assessed:
Unit 2: Criminological Theories
Unit 4: Crime and Punishment
Each unit is marked out of 90.
Details of the external assessment are as follows:
· 90-minute examination
· Total of 75 marks
· Three questions on each paper
· Short and extended answer questions, based on stimulus material and applied contexts
· Each question will have an applied problem-solving scenario
· Each paper will assess all learning outcomes and assessment criteria will be sampled in each series
· Electronically assessed (e-assessment)
· Graded: on a scale of A to E
The following units are examined via a controlled assessment and internally assessed:
Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime
Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom
· Units are assessed through summative controlled assessment
· The students are set a ‘brief’ to which they have to respond
· The students are able to take in to the assessment pre-prepared notes that they have worked on in the preceding term
· The students have an extended internal assessment in which they have to respond to the ‘brief’
· They are also expected (for the Changing Awareness of Crime Unit) to design a public awareness campaign aimed at reducing levels of crime in an area chosen by the student
· Graded: on a scale of A to E
Home Learning
Home learning will take the form of preparation for or review of work in class. This will consist of either reading or written work (research work or practice of and preparation for exam questions).
Students are expected to pay close attention to current affairs in relation to crime and policing and this is essential for the development of an in depth understanding of the subject. The textbook is a starting point, but students are expected to read around the subject and pay close attention to the media (television, radio, internet based media and newspaper) in order to develop their broader understanding of contemporary trends and issues in relation to crime.
Where can Criminology take you?
The skills and knowledge acquired through the study of Criminology, are invaluable for an array of career paths. Those listed below show just a few which have a direct and indirect relationship to the subject.
Further Study
Degrees in:
· Criminology
· Law
· Psychology
· Social work
· Journalism
· Sociology
· History
· Politics
Careers
Careers that are related directly to the study of criminology:
· Law
· Police and Security (IT security, for example)
· Social Work
· Civil Service
· Journalism
· Public Relations
· Working on policy research and for think tanks
· Local government
· Teaching
· Television and radio broadcasting
How can parents support their child’s learning
Parents/carers can discuss with the students how they plan to manage their time for the home learning tasks and revision for assessments.
Encouraging students to embrace wider reading and further research is extremely important. Students should be taking knowledge regarding crime and policing from a broad range of sources – television, radio, internet based media and newspapers.
Visiting sites connected to crime and the law, such as the Royal Courts of Justice or Parliament. Encouraging discussion about the topics studied in class is also useful.
Useful Links
· BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
· The Crown Prosecution Service https://www.cps.gov.uk/
· The Metropolitan Police https://www.met.police.uk/
· The Hertfordshire Police https://www.herts.police.uk/
· The Howard League for Prison Reform https://howardleague.org/
For more information contact Mr S Bremner, Head of Social Science, Townsend Church of England School.