Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Criminology

 

The criminal justice industry is becoming increasingly complex. The knowledge and skill base required to effectively and efficiently discharge the large number of activities in this area, including policing and corrections, has increased considerably in recent years as a result of the growing sophistication of crime and developments in evidence-based solutions to criminality. The Victorian government has committed billions of dollars in the next few years to the creation of new employment opportunities in this industry.

The proposed program encompasses both criminology and criminal justice. The criminology aspects of the course focuses mainly on the causes of crime and attempts to consider solutions that can reduce criminal behaviour. It provides a pathway for people who want to develop and monitor rehabilitation programs and also more broadly to work in the area of community safety (trying to anticipate where crime might occur).

Criminal justice deals mainly with the fallout of crime and activities that directly try to prevent crime in a manner that does not involve attempting to understand and change the mindset of offenders and potential offenders. Thus, the criminal justice aspects provides a pathway to jobs in policing, prosecution, the courts and prisons.

Ideally, most government funding should be directed to the front end of criminal behaviour (i.e. the causes of crime – criminology), but it is not. Most funding is directed at the back-end, i.e. dealing with the fall out of crime (i.e. criminal justice). Hence, the reason that the proposed course encompasses both criminology and criminal justice program.