Subject Intent

By studying criminology we aim to enable students to actively understand how the criminal justice system impacts on their own lives and the behaviour of others around them. This is extremely important as part of our teaching what matters to our students in a school that is situated in an urban area with very high levels of deprivation and crime. Therefore, criminology will empower our students, many of whom may be witnesses to or victims of crime, to understand control measures in society and therefore allow them to analyse situations and draw conclusions about reasons as to why some people may become involved with crime. Furthermore, our study of criminology at Holyhead challenges our students to consider the reliability of statistics about crime and hopes to inspire them to consider how social action can be an influence on positive change in society.

By studying criminology we aim to enable students to actively understand how the criminal justice system impacts on their own lives and the behaviour of others around them. This is extremely important as part of our teaching what matters to our students in a school that is situated in an urban area with very high levels of deprivation and crime. Therefore, criminology will empower our students, many of whom may be witnesses to or victims of crime, to understand control measures in society and therefore allow them to analyse situations and draw conclusions about reasons as to why some people may become involved with crime. Furthermore, our study of criminology at Holyhead challenges our students to consider the reliability of statistics about crime and hopes to inspire them to consider how social action can be an influence on positive change in society.

What are the key skills of a criminologist?

We equip students with the following disciplinary skills and knowledge throughout the course so they can succeed in examinations and begin a journey towards working like someone in the criminology sector.

The following skills are the focus for year 12:

1. To be able to analyse different types of crime and to be able to evaluate methods of collecting statistics about crime
2. To be able to evaluate how crime is reported in the media and effective methods of campaigning
3. To be able to plan and design a campaign for change
4. To be able to evaluate the effectiveness of criminological theories to explain the causes of crime and how policies are made
5. To be able to be organised and to work within time constraints to be successful in managing workload and completing controlled assessment.
6. To be able to structure and write about the above to be successful in academic study

The following skills are the focus for year 13:

1. To be able to review criminal cases for validity in criminal investigation and prosecution processes
2. To be able to evaluate the limitations and effectiveness of agencies within the criminal justice system in achieving social control
3. To be able to be organised and to work within time constraints to be successful in managing workload and completing controlled assessment.
4. To be able to structure and write about the above to be successful in academic study