Criminology
Social Studies and Justice in one Degree
Criminology
is one of the newest academic disciplines, and has grown
for good reason. Its popularity ensures that students are
turning to it in large numbers, both in Britain and in North
America.
All
advanced Western societies have now developed research and
teaching programs in criminology. Increasingly during the
twentieth century, governments have realized that they need
criminologists to advise on trends in crime rates, changes
in prison policy, the training of magistrates, changes in
approaches to policing, the wisdom of current economic policies
and their knock-on effects on crime patterns.
Not
only that, but a public which is bombarded daily with crime
news, stories, thrillers, crime-watch projects, and dramas,
factual or fictional, wants to know the truth: what causes
crime? Who commits crime? Does prison work? Do the police
over-step the mark? Should we have capital punishment? In
addition, when you add on a whole range of professionals
'in the
business'
of criminal justice - police, social workers, probation
officers, prison officers and politicians - who want to
put their work into a bigger perspective, you will realize
why criminology has become a boom industry. Today, at least
a dozen new universities in the UK run undergraduate degrees
in criminology. The latest addition to this list is the
new BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University
of East London's School of Law.
The
Head of the School is himself a criminologist - Professor
Colin Sumner worked at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology
for 18 years before joining UEL. His colleagues include
feminist legal theorist Professor Beverly Brown, and a dynamic,
young staff. Courses offered range from foundational units
such as Socio-Legal Methods and Skills, Constitutional Law,
Criminal Justice Process, and Contemporary Issues in Criminology,
to specialist substantive units such as Theoretical Process,
Contemporary Issues in Criminology, Theoretical Criminology,
Crime and the Media, Youth Justice, Crime and the City and
Crime, Deviance and Culture.
A
number of features are unique about this new degree:
These
new criminology degrees at undergraduate level deserve to
succeed in a field that can still offer jobs to students.
Crime is always with us in highly modernized countries,
creating a need for educated police, journalists, politicians,
social workers, prison officers and probation officers.
Increasingly, they realize that they need to know the results
of the sciences available, which means criminology and criminal
justice studies.
Author:
Professor Colin, Sumner University of East London School
of Law
