Criminology is the study of crime and delinquency including how crime is portrayed in society as well as theories of the cause of criminal behaviour and how to prevent and rehabilitate/punish criminal activity.

Criminology equips students with an understanding of the criminal justice system and societies perception of crime and how different factors can influence criminal law.

Curriculum Aims

The aim of our Criminology curriculum is for students to develop their critical thinking skills, time management and communication skills through analysing crimes and case studies as well as debating whether the criminal justice system is effective.

Our curriculum aims for Criminology are framed around the exam specifications and is carefully sequenced to allow our students to gain extensive, relevant knowledge and understanding of criminology, including applying knowledge to local contexts and real life case studies from the wider world.  

Students will develop the understanding and skills needed to examine information in order to review the justice of verdicts in criminal cases. Students will also apply their understanding of the awareness of criminality, criminological theories and the process of bringing an accused to court in order to evaluate the effectiveness of social control to deliver criminal justice policy.

Students will develop inquisitive minds and become independent thinkers as they compare and contrast a range of theories explaining criminal behaviour. They will demonstrate respect and tolerance of a range of beliefs as they learn about opinions and cultures surrounding criminal behaviour and how crime is impacted by cultural and social differences.

Curriculum Design

Our Criminology curriculum starts with students studying types of crime and how these are portrayed in the media. Students will go on to study theories of crime and whether punishment methods are suitable. The curriculum is sequenced in a way that each unit builds on previous knowledge so that synoptic elements in their external assessments can be achieved.

Please click the link to view our Criminology Curriculum Year Overview

Future Pathways and Next Steps 

The curriculum enables students to develop a love of learning for criminology and to facilitate pursing a career in this field, such as in the police or social services.​​​​​​​  Through the study of Criminology we aim to unlock each students' potential and inspire them to achieve excellence by being the best they can be. This can lead to a wide range of future opportunities, some of which include:  

University Degrees: (often Criminology is studied as a Joint Honours Degree) Applied Social Science, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Criminology with a Modern Foreign Language, Criminology with Law

Apprenticeships: Police Constable, Criminal Justice 

Careers: Crime Analyst, Crime Scene Investigator, Detective, Forensic Pathologist, Forensic Scientist, National Offender Management Service

Students can find out more about the subject and careers above by logging into their Unifrog account at https://www.unifrog.org/sign-in and using the Subject Library and Careers Library tools.