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Level 3
Criminology WJEC Level 3 Certificate/ Diploma
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course aims to provide knowledge and understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. It covers all aspects of crime, from what kinds of people commit crime, through crime scenes and courtrooms, to punishment and prisons. It has elements of Psychology, Law and Sociology, and will be attractive to students interested in the Social sciences or Humanities.
Topics studied include:
Unit 1 – Changing awareness of crime – Different types of crime; Who commits crime; Why some crimes are unreported and the consequences of unreported crime; how campaigns can be used to change laws; attitudes to crime; and the influence of the media on attitudes. You will create your own Campaign for Change relating to crime.
Unit 2 – Criminological Theories – Social constructions of criminality; comparisons between crime and deviance; biological, psychological and sociological theories of criminality; causes of criminality; policy development to prevent reoffending, and how social change might affect crime and the law.
In the second year you will study:
Unit 3 – Crime Scene to Courtroom – The process of criminal investigations, including personnel (e.g. Scenes of Crime Officers), and techniques of processing evidence (e.g. finger printing); the Crown Prosecution Service; the trial process and the rules of evidence; juries and magistrates; verdicts and miscarriages of justice.
Unit 4 – Crime and Punishment – Understand the criminal justice system in England and Wales; processes involved in law making; models of criminal justice; social control; aims and effects of punishment; agencies involved in social control and their effectiveness, including police, prisons and probation.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Minimum of 5 GCSEs at 9-4, including grade 4 in English Language & Maths Good reading skills are important for this course, and students will need to develop their writing skills over the duration of the course. Students should have a strong interest in crime, people and society and be able to express their ideas in class discussions, as well as listen to the views of others. Ideally students will have sound organisational skills, or at least be prepared to develop them over the course, and an ability to meet deadlines will be important.
Students may take two other courses with this one, which could be A levels or BTECs. This course combines particularly well with Psychology, Sociology, Politics, Law, History A levels. Many students taking the Diploma in Criminology use the qualification to support access to higher education degree courses, such as: Criminology; Criminology and Forensic studies; Criminology and Sociology; Psychology and Sociology; Criminology with Law, etc. Alternatively, the qualification allows learners to gain the required understanding and skills to be able to consider employment within some aspects of the criminal justice system, e.g. the National Probation Service, the Police, the Courts and the Tribunals Service, the National Offender Management Service, or the Prison Service.
The qualifications are assessed using a combination of internal and external assessment. Units 2 and 4 are externally assessed through 90 minute exams using short and extended answer questions, both exams are synoptic. There is one resit opportunity for the exams. Units 1 and 3 are internally assessed through an 8 hour controlled assessment for each unit, completed under controlled conditions. At the end of the course, the Certificate is awarded a grade A -; E, and the Diploma is awarded a grade A* – E.
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