What Is Criminology? Scope And Career Opportunities

To get the admission in this field you must have cleared the 12th examination with science subjects.

By Divya

As the name suggests, Criminology is directly referring to the crime. Forensic science is only the part of criminology. It is one of the challenging fields as the crime is increasing day by day in various countries. Criminology develops theories for explaining crime as a social phenomenon.

 

Who is Criminologist?

  • A criminologist's job responsibilities involve analyzing data to determine why the crime was committed and to find ways to predict and prevent further criminal behavior.

What are the Courses offered for Criminology?

  • Certificate courses are offered by the agencies for the duration of 6 months.
  • There are few universities in India which offer a diploma program for the duration of 1 year and UG degree program leading to the B.A degree and the B.Sc degree in forensic science or criminology as one of the subjects.

The courses in the field of criminology are offered in range of certificate to doctoral level programmes as per the following:

  • Certificate Course (Forensic Science)
  • Diploma Course (Cyber Crime)
  • Diploma Course (Forensic Science and Criminology)
  • Diploma in Criminal Law (D.Crin)
  • Diploma in Criminology & Penology
  • Bachelor Degree Course (Forensic Science and Criminology)
  • Masters Degree Course (Forensic Science and Criminology)
  • Masters Degree Course (Forensic Science and Criminology Research)
  • Master of Science (M.Sc) in Criminology
  • Master of Arts (MA) in Criminology & Criminal Justice
  • Master of Arts (MA) in Anti Terrorism Law
  • Master of Legislative Law (LLM) in Criminal Law & Criminology
  • Master of Legislative Law (LLM) in Crimes & Torts
  • Master of Legislative Law (LLM) in Criminal Law
  • Post Graduate Diploma Course (Forensic Science and Criminology)

What is the eligibility to get admission in Criminology courses?

  • To get the admission in this field you must have cleared the 12th examination with science subjects.
  • For admission in B.A degree program in criminology or cyber crime, a student had the art group in 12th can apply.
  • For admissions into master courses like MA or LLM, you should have completed a bachelor's degree in the related field from any recognized college or institution.
  • There is not specified entrance examination to get the admission in UG program. Only you need to pass the 12th class with good percentages.

    Colleges offering admissions in Criminology courses are listed here:

  • Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, Delhi, India.
  • B.H.U. or Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • B.I.T.S., Pilani, Karnataka, India.
  • B.U. or Bundelkhand University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, Dr. Harisingh Gour University, Madya Pradesh, India.
  • Department of Studies in Criminology and Forensic Science, K.U. or Karnataka University, Dharwad, Karnataka.
  • Forensic Sciences Department, University of Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • Institute of Forensic Science, Maharashtra, India.
  • University of Madras, Madras, India.
Career In Criminology

Study Criminology Abroad:

  • Master of Criminology- Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.
  • Diploma of Criminology- Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.
  • Master of Science Criminology and Criminal Psychology- University of Essex Online.
  • Bachelor of Criminology, University of New England.
  • Masters in International Crimes & Criminology- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Career Scope in Criminology:

  • There is a good job opportunity in the field of criminology.
  • This field has various offers for the scientist, research assistant, criminologist, forensic scientist and an investigator.
  • Once you have completed a course in this field, you can opt job in various areas such as Forensic Department, Police, Research area, Medical Hospitals, CBI, Court, FBI, Crime Laboratories, Private Hospitals, Colleges, Institutions, MNCs (legal matters), Prison Reforms Programs and many others.
  • You may be the professor in a college or the university or you may be the professional in the legal study or the judiciary member.

The job profiles in the field of criminology are as the following:

  • Private detectives
  • Crime investigators
  • Crime scene analyst
  • Crime laboratory analyst
  • F.B.I. agents
  • Forensic surgeon
  • Forensic engineer
  • Police officers
  • Crime intelligence analyst
  • Community corrections coordinator
  • Law reform researcher
  • Regional crime prevention coordinator
  • Consumer advocate
  • Drug policy advisor
  • Environment protection analyst

What are the Skills Required to become a Criminologist?

Analytical Skills:

  • You should have the ability to predict effectively or solve complicated crime situations to produce well-structured results.

Data Collection:

  • The collected data on the spot of crime should be informative and understanding. The way of collecting data should be organized and clean.

Crime Techniques:

  • You should follow the different techniques every time to analyze the data gathered from various sources in the crime places.

Criminal Behaviour:

  • It is very important to understand and have criminal behavior knowledge. If one has full knowledge about criminal's behavior then you can easily understand the reasons for crimes.

Research Skills:

  • First, you have to know the research techniques before investigating any case. Research is very important in every field of investigation.

Knowledge of Computers:

  • The knowledge of computers and internet is necessary nowadays. All sources of collecting information and gathering are mostly done through the internet.

Salary & Pay scale:

  • A criminologist can be a part of the government and private sector companies or the organization.
  • The salary in the government sector is fixed but in the private sector, the salary is a matter of fluctuation. The salary depends on the skills of one and the case on which he/she is working.
  • The career is brighter in abroad than the India in the field of criminology. You may earn the handsome money to establish your own detective agency.
  • As a criminologist, you can earn around Rs. 3 to 4 lacs per year. With some good experience in this field, you can earn attractive salary packages in both sectors.

Top Recruiters:

The top sectors and organizations for the recruitment of criminologist are as the following:
Government agencies against the crime.

  • Private detectives
  • Crime investigators
  • Crime scene analyst
  • Crime laboratory analyst
  • F.B.I. agents
  • Forensic surgeon
  • Forensic engineer
  • Police officers
  • Crime intelligence analyst
  • Community corrections coordinator
  • Law reform researcher
  • Regional crime prevention coordinator
  • Consumer advocate
  • Drug policy advisor
  • Environment protection analyst

Also read: What is Anthropology? Scope and Career opportunities

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