Criminal Studies Certificate
This course is designed to provide knowledge and skills that are valued for work in crime.
Criminology industries are far more than just police and lawyers
- Preventing crime
- Investigating crime and law enforcement
- Legal services
- Managing offenders
A knowledge of criminology is also valuable for people working on the fringes of crime, from crime writers and reporters to people who supply equipment and materials used in crime prevention (eg. surveillance equipment)
The course will expand your knowledge of
- crime in general
- why people behave the way that they do
- investigating crime
- profiling offenders
- profiling victims
- understanding legal terminology
- the ethics involved in the legal justice system
- And much more
This is a substantial training program consisting of nine x 100 hour modules. There are compulsory core modules, then you choose a series of other modules to suit your needs and interests.
Modules
Note that each module in the Advanced Certificate in Criminal Studies is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Criminal Profiling
Criminal profiling has been described in various ways by various writers and investigators. Essentially it involves assessing and interpreting behaviours or actions at a crime scene and using that information to attempt to predict the likely characteristics of the offender or offenders.
Basically, we look at what the person has done at the crime scene/scenes and use that to develop a profile of who they are and the type of crimes they may commit in the future. John MacDonald of the University of Colorado stated that children who were cruel to animals, bedwetting and fire-starting were demonstrating a triad of behaviours, known as the MacDonald triad, or the Homicidal Triad. These behaviours were thought to indicate that a child would be cruel to humans later in their life, likely a serial killer or violent murderer.
Information like this is useful in profiling. For example, if an investigator found that a child was harming animals, and the other factors were also in place, it could indicate a more serious problem in the future. So, a simplistic example, finding a harmed animal at a crime scene could be an indicator or something far worse in the future.
Those characteristics from crime scenes are what is used to create a criminal profile.
Types of Crime
Criminologists argue that there are five main types of crime –
- Violent crime, such as murder, rape and assault
- Property crime, such as arson or vandalism
- White collar crime, such as fraud
- Organised crime, such as drug selling
- Consensual and victimless crimes
Using this Qualification
- If you wish to start along a new career path this can be a great starting point
- If you have related qualifications or experience (eg. in counselling, a law office, security) this course can fill gaps in your knowledge and strengthen your career prospects in criminal industries.
- Get better at the business or job you already do
One major advantage of this course is it's flexibility both in how you learn and what you learn.
In offering a diverse range of electives, you have the opportunity to choose what you study in almost half of the course. In that respect, every graduate can mould the course to have a relatively unique set of skills. One graduate may have skills that are more focussed on security management, while another may be more focussed on criminal rehabilitation and support. If you talk with us, we have additional elective modules that can be offered. Use our free advisory service
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