Attending law and security college involves more than just learning the practical skills you will need in your day-to-day work. The best programs will also include courses that guide you through the theory and social science that helps shape policing and security work.
Criminology is an important course that law and security students at Gates College take during their studies in order to build their understanding of crime and criminal justice. Keep reading to learn more about what criminology is, and how it can help make law and security graduates more effective professionals, no matter what career path they choose after their training.
Criminology Helps Explain the Crimes You Will Prevent After Law and Security College
Criminology is mainly focused on providing descriptions of, and explanations and remedies for, criminal behavior in a population. By studying trends in crime, characteristics of perpetrators and victims, and examining the circumstances of a crime, criminologists can help policymakers and law enforcement officials better understand why crime occurs.
There are many schools of thought in criminology. Some focus on individual motivations for crimes, while others consider biological factors, or study social environments. Students in law and security college can use the insights from their criminology coursework to better understand the individuals they will encounter throughout their careers – both the people committing crimes, and the ones suffering from their effects.
Use Criminology to Understand the Social Context of Your Law and Security Program
Another important component of criminology is its exploration of the social and political context that shapes criminal behavior. What a society considers to be criminal is based on a number of factors, including morals, politics, and safety concerns. Criminology helps individuals understand how these lines are drawn.
Additionally, criminology highlights how conditions like poverty, disaster, and geography can all impact an individual’s environment and shape their susceptibility to either perpetrate or be a victim of particular crimes. Criminology helps demonstrate that crime is not just an individual issue – it is an aspect of society that can be prevented in many different ways.
Criminology Brings Theory and Practice Together for Law Enforcement Professionals
What does this mean for the law enforcement careers of police foundations graduates? Studying criminology during your training is important because it can help give you theoretical guidance for the practical skills you will learn in other classes and in the field. When you are working with people who have committed crimes, it can make it easier for you to understand how they behaved and why, which may be important factors as they move through the criminal justice system.
Criminology will also help you understand the impact of crimes on victims, which will make it easier for you to be an informed and effective professional in your community. Finally, having some knowledge of criminology will make it easier for you to understand crime on a larger scale, and improve your ability to contribute to solving and preventing it.
