Criminology (Level 3 Diploma), A Home Study, Distance Learning Course

Criminology (Level 3 Diploma)

How is the course structured?

The NCFE Level 3 Criminology course is divided into twenty one comprehensive modules:

Chapter1: Social Order Maintenance in Celtic & Roman Britain
Learning Objectives

- Understand and describe how social order was maintained in Celtic Britain
- Understand and describe how social order was maintained in Roman Britain
- Understand that the Celtic philosophy of punishment was community based involving fines, restitution, deterrence and rehabilitation
- Understand that the Roman philosophy of punishment was based on imprisonment, hard labour and the death penalty

Chapter 2: Inequality before the Law
Learning Objectives

- Understand that a period of chaos and civil strife followed the Roman withdrawal from Britain
- Understand that the early Christian church had a significant influence on the formulation of English law
- Understand that certain groups such as the church and those of noble birth were treated differently under evolving English law
- Understand that in addition to brutal punishment a system of fines provided a rich source of revenue for the early kings
- Understand that Anglo Saxon law and Danelaw existed simultaneously before being absorbed into a single legal system
- Understand that in the early 12th century the English legal system began to take a form recognisable today
- Understand that the poor and weak were more easily and readily criminalised than the rich and powerful.

Chapter 3: Criminalisation, Victims and the Role of the State
Learning Objectives

- Recognise that until the mid-19th century order maintenance was not a democratic process
- Recognise that all were not equal before the law
- Recognise that little attempt was made to discover or understand the causes of crime
- Understand that it was not until the mid-18th century that it was recognised that social factors contributed to criminal activity.

Chapter 4: Classicism & Positivism
Learning Objectives

- Recognise the key features of classicism
- Recognise the key features of positivism
- Recognise the differences in these approaches

Chapter 5: The Anglo American Model and the Chicago School of Criminology
Learning Objectives

- Understand that policing, courts and criminological research developed differently in Britain and the United States than it did in Europe
- Understand that criminological research in Britain and the United States follows a statistical, crime management model rather than a Lombrosian model
- Understand why ideas about crime attract criticism and why theorists should constructively criticise their own work before publication.

Chapter 6: Anomie, Social Control & Deviant Subculture Theories
Learning Objectives

- Have an understanding of Durkheim's theory of anomie
- Have an understanding of Merton's Strain theory
- Have an understanding of deviant subcultures
- Have an awareness of more recent research which seeks to consolidate the results of previous research.

Chapter 7: Administrative Criminology
Learning Objectives

- Have an awareness of the main features of routine activity theory
- Have an awareness of the main features of rational choice theory
- Understand the main differences between routine activity theory and rational choice theory.
- Have an awareness of crime science and the criticisms levelled against it
-Have an awareness of the links between rational choice theory and crime prevention theory

Chapter 8: Labelling Theory & Critical Criminology
Learning Objectives

- Understand the main argument of labelling theory
- Understand the main thrust of critical criminology
- Understand that critical theory was never fixed but was constantly developing before evolving into a number of separate theories in the 1980s.

Chapter 9: Right Realism
Learning Objectives

- Understand the main concerns of right realism
- Recognise the influence of classical and positivist schools of thought on right realism
- Recognise the weakness in right realist theory
- To construct evidenced based counter arguments.

Chapter 10: Left Idealism & Left Realism
Learning Objectives

Understand the main concerns of left idealism
- Understand the main concerns of left realism
- Understand the main difference between these two schools of thought.

Chapter 11: Feminist Criminology
Learning Objectives

- Understand that feminist criminology is a critical criminology
- Understand the main areas of research undertaken by feminist criminology
- Understand that conservative views of female offending were positivist views
- Recognise that feminist criminology has continued to develop since its inception.

Chapter 12: Ethnicity and Crime
Learning Objectives

- Recognise that black people appear to be treated differently by the criminal justice system
- Recognise that little research has been conducted into the crimogenic needs of black people
- Understand that black people perceive that they are treated differently even when they are victims of crime
- Understand that government has recognised that racism has been present within the criminal justice system and has taken steps to eliminate it.

Chapter 13: Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System
Learning Objectives

- Understand what is meant by a mentally disordered person
- Recognise that looked after children are at greater risk of developing a mental disorder
- Have an understanding of police approaches to mentally disordered people
- Have an understanding of CPS approaches to mentally disordered people
- Have an understanding of the courts approaches to mentally disordered people
- Have an understanding of probation service approaches to mentally disordered people
- Have an understanding of prison service approaches to mentally disordered people

Chapter 14: Young Offenders and the Criminal Justice System
Learning Objectives

- Understand what is meant by a young offender
- Recognise that government policies in respect of young offenders follow a positivist approach
- Have an understanding of some of the diversionary approaches to young offenders
- Have an understanding of the punitive nature of the incarceration of young offenders

Chapter 15: Children and Criminology
Learning Objectives

- Identify common factors in children who kill
- Recognise that common factors are universal
- Recognise that poor parenting/caring can be a contributory factor
- Recognise some of the possible indicators of a potential child killer
- Recognise that society/families must share some of responsibility for the emergence of children who kill.

Chapter 16: Agencies of Social Control
Learning Objectives

- Understand what is meant by policing
- Recognise that policing is carried out by a number of agencies other than the police
- Understand that not all those who carry out a social control function are constables
- Understand that vastly different levels of screening, training and supervision apply across different social control agencies.

Chapter 17: The National Probation Service
Learning Objectives

- Have an awareness of the history of the probation service
- Understand the aims of the probation service
- Understand the role of the probation service.

Chapter 18: Incarceration and Punishment
Learning Objectives

- Understand that the modern prison service has its origins in a variety of methods of detention
- Recognise that imprisonment has not always been used against criminal offenders
- Recognise that imprisonment has sometimes been driven by political and economic motives
- Question whether imprisonment as a strategy for crime control actually works
- Recognise that vast improvements have occurred in the treatment of prison inmates
- Question why prison populations continue to rise.

Chapter 19: White Collar Crime
Learning Objectives

- Recognise which crimes are embraced by the term white collar crime
- Understand what is meant by insider trading
- Understand what is meant by money laundering
- Understand the difficulties in detecting and prosecuting white collar crime

Chapter 20: Violent Crime
Learning Objectives

- Understand why people fear violent crime
- Recognise which groups in society are most likely to be victims of crime
- Recognise why society makes distinctions between different types of violent crime
- Consider government reactions to crime and question their effectiveness in reducing fear of crime.

Assessment

Theoretical information is provided throughout the Criminology Diploma, followed by a series of activities and essays that are to be completed and marked by your personal tutor. Each module contains one 500 word essay plus short questions.

Upon verification of the activities, exercises and assignments, a nationally recognised certificate will be awarded by NCFE as confirmation that your written work has met all of the learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the programme.

Our aim is to provide you with the best deal available, therefore any registration fee, certification fee and full tutor support is included in the course price for you. The enrolment fee for the Criminology home study course is £436.25, though for a limited time we are offering you the opportunity to pay only £349 which is a 20% discount if you enrol online and pay in full.

You can also opt for our Easy Payment Plan and enrol online today by paying a deposit of £87.25 and then 4 equal payments of £87.25 per month. The first instalment is paid about a month after you receive your course.