Criminology is a scientific field that studies the complexity of crime in society. It encompasses many disciplines, such as law, sociology, genetics, psychology, and more. After completing my GE courses on criminology, I realize there are many benefits to these courses and their application later in life. Namely, the value that criminal psychology and investigative, analytical thinking represents to society in the prevention and understanding of crime.
Crime is a serious societal phenomenon that affects many people – perpetrators, victims, witnesses, and law enforcement officials. It is important to understand all of these variables in crime. First of all, criminology studies perpetrators motives, personality types, and genetic predisposition to violence, which means students gain a detailed understanding of criminals through criminology courses. Many variables factor into whether or not a person is capable of committing a violent crime. For example, their family background, mental state, socioeconomic environment, and others. This field of study is criminal psychology which criminologists apply later in life to solve and prevent crimes. My college courses have enabled me to be very valuable to society by providing me with an understanding of intricate patterns of criminal behavior. Understanding the complexity of the human mind helps with dealing with violent crimes that most people would be uncomfortable with solving.
When it comes to victims of crime, criminology allows me to examine their mindset and the trauma they sustained from the event. Victims are likely to cope with trauma in a variety of ways that can be healthy or unhealthy, and criminologists often cooperate with victims of the crime to persecute the perpetrator. It is incredibly important to have an understanding of the persons lived experience to provide them with the care necessary for productivity. Helping victims of crime is another area that criminologists are able to assist in. Criminologists interact with witnesses of crimes for the same reasons as victims of crime. Determining the trustworthiness of witnesses plays a role in solving cases.
Criminologists work in close cooperation with law enforcement officers, which means they have to understand the inner workings of the police systems. In cases where police are at fault for not responding to the reporting of the crime or officers misconduct, criminologists have the opportunity to salvage the situation. Their unique training in psychology and sociology allows them to conduct themselves properly in criminal cases when dealing with interrogations and testimonies.
My criminology courses have provided me with many opportunities to work in multiple different fields, such as policing, counseling and therapy, medicine, prison management, and private and federal investigations. I can use the knowledge I gained through GE courses to prevent crime. For example, I can work directly with people who have many risk factors for committing a violent offense. Through my obtained skills in sociology, I can assess entire communities of people and conduct research on criminality, which can later be used to raise public awareness of this phenomenon and develop crime prevention programs. Forensics is also an interesting and valuable field of study that contributes to solving crimes. With more experience in this field later in life, I am able to provide valuable testimony based on my expertise and contribute to criminal trials that decide the outcome of cases. I see that my criminology studies have given me many different career paths to choose from.