Students who enjoy crime documentaries and have a keen interest in current events, the law and enjoy discussing contemporary issues involving various elements of criminality, will find this subject fascinating. Those looking towards careers in the criminal justice system or within social work, health care and even education, will also find this a very useful qualification to have.
Candidates should have achieved a grade 5 or higher at GCSE in English language and have a keen interest in crime-based documentary material.
The WJEC Level 3 criminology qualification engages student by hinging many topic areas on key criminal cases. The first unit on the changing awareness of crime requires students to analyse key criminals, such as the notorious Kray Twins. In unit two, criminological theories, students are challenged to understand what has motivated some of the worst murder cases in UK and international history. In unit three, students move on to analyse how crime investigation has evolved with the development of forensic techniques. Students will consider some high profile crimes, such as the White House Farm murders and look at how evidence eventually led to a conviction. Finally, in unit four, crime and punishment, students analyse systems of punishment and how effective these are. This unit offers considerable opportunity for debate and exploration.
This course will allow entry on to degree courses in the areas of criminology, psychology, sociology and law. There are routes directly into the probation service, courts and tribunals service, and the national offender management service. An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work and sociology and psychology.