Summary

This is an exciting course which will allow you to gain a wealth of knowledge linked to criminal justice and is a qualification that combines elements of psychology, law and sociology. This course needs to be taken alongside two A Levels.

A stimulating grounding in the study of criminology can be achieved. You will have the opportunity to acquire both practical and academic skills through applied learning, and the focus of some assignments provide opportunities to learn from practitioners in the criminal justice sector.

The flexibility of the course will enable you to specialise in your individual area of interest. An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work and sociology and psychology.

This is an Applied General qualification which means it is designed primarily to support students progressing to university. It offers exciting and interesting experiences that focus learning through applied methods, i.e. through the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in relation to authentic case studies. Units include the Changing Awareness of Crime, Criminological Theories, Crime Scene to Courtroom and Crime and Punishment.

In the first year of study, you will study the following units:

Unit 1: Changing awareness of crime

• Understanding different types of crime
• Understanding how crime reporting affects people's perception of criminology
• Understanding of how campaigns are used to elicit change
• Planning a campaign for change

Unit 2: Criminology theories

• Understanding the difference between crime and deviance
• Understanding the theories of criminology (Biological, sociological and psychological)
• Understanding the causes of different types of crime
• Understanding causes of policy change