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Criminology Job
Criminology Job
CRIMINOLOGY
Crime is a hugely complex social phenomenon. This has given rise to an equally complex collection of popular
Crime
is specialised
a hugely complex
phenomenon.
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rise
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complex
collection
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itsgiven
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and
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and factual
to crime
its causes,
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of study information
that examinesas
how
is defined,
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tion.
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this
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criminology
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that
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commit crimes, and how society responds. It probes the culture of crime and the workings of the criminal justice
how
crime
is defined,
whycourts,
people
commit
and how
society responds. It probes the culture of
system
including
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services.
crime and the workings of the criminal justice system including the police, courts, prisons and rehabilitation services.
It studies the characteristics of offenders and how
criminal behaviour relates to a wide range of social
factors; for example drug use, educational attainment, ethnicity, family relationships and mental
health. It researches the ways in which crime impacts
on victims and their families. How, for instance, are
victims of rape treated in the justice system? How do
the families of homicide victims survive? It seeks to
understand how criminal behaviour meets the needs
of its perpetrators. It asks who goes to prison and
what happens to them there. It questions the nature
of punishment is it to provide justice, to deter or
prevent crime, or to reform criminals? It questions
the relationship between crime and the media. Does
the way crime is reported and represented influence
criminal behaviour and attitudes to victims?
Crime is also an international concern that changes
with the times. Organised criminal enterprises can
command a workforce and financial turnover that
rivals multinational corporations. Digital technology
supports our global financial services industry but
also opens up opportunities for fraud and misappropriation that, only a few years ago, would have been
incomprehensible. The proportion of Internet traffic
that relates to criminal activity can only be conservatively estimated, extending as it does opportunities
for such a broad range of criminal activities including
those related to sexual and interpersonal violence.
Criminology also investigates state crimes and global
issues such as security, terrorism and genocide.
The study of criminology is intellectually challenging
and involves digging deeply into social realities which
can show human nature at its worst. However it
provides the kind of informed understanding and
conceptual scaffolding which is necessary for those
who want to work constructively towards making
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GRADUATE PROFILES
tion, opportunity, conditioning, and personality.
Such understanding tends towards tolerance for
others idiosyncrasies, which goes down well in
all work situations and is vital where a capacity
for empathy is required such as probation officer,
psychologist and other client-centred roles.
Communication skills: These are absolutely
vital to employers. Criminology graduates have
worked through contentious and complex ideas,
both verbally and in writing, and have been
trained to express their thinking with clarity
and precision. Communication skills combine
speaking, listening, writing and understanding,
and underpin almost any job you can think of.
JOB TITLES
The following is a sample of job titles taken from
our graduate destination surveys. Some roles may
require additional qualifications and training.
Administration Officer
Cases Editor
Claims Manager
Contracts Administrator
Development Assistant
Intelligence Collator
Lecturer
Licensing Officer
Police Communicator
Probation Officer
Research Assistant
Security Officer
Senior Researcher
Student Advisor
Teacher
Tutor
Kerry Consedine
Acting Service Manager
Department of Corrections,
Community Probation Service
I come from a large family with
a long history of working with
and helping others. So I guess
an interest in social justice and
what makes people tick is in
my blood.
I finished school in 1995 and knew I wanted to
continue in tertiary education but I wasnt exactly
sure what I wanted to major in. So I tried a bit of
everything in my first year at Victoria University
education, sociology, philosophy, and anthropology.
During my first year it became clear that I wanted to
study crime and criminals what was it that made
people turn to crime? What was happening in their
lives that meant they had to turn to crime and how
were these people different to me? So I enrolled in
criminology and didnt look back.
The study of crime in society is fascinating and
criminology closely examines many different aspects
- women, youth, drugs, property crime, environment, socio-economics, Police, Courts, the list goes
on. Other questions in my head were how does the
criminal justice system in New Zealand compare to
systems overseas? Where does restorative justice fit
in to our system and what are we doing to address
the over-representation of Maori in our prisons?
Studying criminology helped me gain a much better
understanding of the explanations and also gave me
some good insight into New Zealands criminal justice
system.
I completed my double major in criminology and
sociology and graduated in 1999. Then I took some
time off study and had my first baby. I soon realised
however that I wanted to further my education and
explore some criminological topics in more depth. I
also knew this would assist me in gaining employment in a field of interest when I was ready. So in
2002 I commenced my Honours degree on a part
time basis with my husband who shares my strong
interest in criminology. We completed our Honours
degrees and graduated together in 2005. With this
postgraduate degree under my belt I felt ready to look
for employment and I was drawn to the work of the
Department of Corrections and more specifically the
Community Probation Service.
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Dean Moses
Senior Advisor
Child, Youth and Family
Criminology was something I
fell into but Ive always had a
knack for falling into the things
that are right for me. My first
year at university was a bit of an
experiment and at the end of
it I realised that I was heading
down the wrong path, so I applied for criminology for
two reasons. Firstly, it sounded cool. Secondly, my
friend was also applying for it. As it happens, I wasnt
accepted that year so I pretty much repeated my first
year in subjects that would give me the best chance of
being accepted if I applied for criminology again.
I did apply again and this time I was accepted.
I was pleased to discover that, as I had hoped, criminology was indeed very cool. Furthermore, I discovered that studying something thats interesting makes
the study so much easier. It did cross my mind over
the next two years that I wasnt exactly sure how
CAREER VIEW
Leanne Mercer
Policy Analyst
Te Puni Kkiri
The distinguished reputation
of the Institute of Criminology
and the Crime and Justice
Research Centre at Victoria
was a real draw-card for me
in choosing criminology as
a major. I felt that the fact
that Victoria was the first (and
remains one of few) universities to offer criminology
was an important point of difference compared to
other majors and degrees, particularly as there are ever
increasing numbers of graduates and the job market
can be competitive.
Another attractive aspect of the criminology major
was the flexibility to take a number of different papers
in the first year. I, like many others, began my first
year still unclear about exactly what I wanted to major
in. Being able to try a number of different subject
areas during my first year, and knowing that criminology was still an option to pick up in second year,
suited me well.
Criminology was by far my favourite subject area
during my studies. Crime is such a topical subject
area in New Zealand society everyone has an
opinion! (and not necessarily a very well informed
opinion). I enjoyed undertaking in-depth study to
the drivers of crime, the impact on society, the role
of the media, the effectiveness of punishment, and
learning crime resolution tools such as environmental
mapping. Criminology involves aspects of a number
of different disciplines, so I learnt a lot about law,
history, psychology, sociology, social policy, and
media studies. Victoria is at the forefront of research
in this area, so the material we studied was up-to-date
and relevant.
A week after my final exam I started an internship in
the Policy Group at Te Puni Kkiri (the Ministry of
Mori Development). I was part of a team working in
the criminal justice area and I was actively involved
producing policy advice regarding the latest government priorities to enable more effective methods of
preventing crime. It was great to be able to put the
skills and experience I gained through my criminology degree into practice straight away. This work
involved engaging with a number of other agencies
across government and non-government sectors. A
very moving and memorable experience for me was
Christiaan Barnard
Detective, Covert Operations
Group
New Zealand Police
I was one of the lucky people
when I finished secondary
school in that I knew what I
wanted to do for a career, and
it was policing. I had intended
to complete a Bachelor of Arts
with a major in psychology so
in my first year I undertook psychology, sociology,
philosophy and statistics. However, after picking up
criminology in my second year I found that its unique
combination of disciplines gave it an appeal that
surpassed the other subjects I had previously studied
and I soon found myself switching my major. Upon
completing my degree in 1998 I opted to stay on to
complete my Honours year, taking three criminology
papers and a sociology paper. It allowed me to take
on interesting subjects such as the prevention of mass
murder, a history of prison riots in New Zealand, the
situational variables that impact upon alcohol related
violence, and alleged brain washing in cults.
I joined the New Zealand Police in 2000 and since
that time I worked as a Detective investigating serious
crime, child abuse and organised crime. Also, since
2003 I have been a member of the Police Negotiation
Team. The work I have undertaken has been varied,
from the investigation of murders through to online
child exploitation, and it has taken me to places such
as China, Canada and the USA. Throughout these
different areas of policing one thing was consistent,
and that was the wide variety of paperwork required.
The time I spent developing my essay writing and
critical thinking skills at University gave me a head
start when it came to investigating and preparing
complex cases. I was also able to apply criminological theory to my understanding of the reasons
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Bronwyn Morrison
Senior Research Advisor
Ministry of Justice
I began my studies at Victoria
University with no intention
of studying criminology;
however, when my second
year rolled round criminology
seemed a reasonable candidate
to sit along my law and
English majors. I am embarrassed to admit that the primary attraction of criminology was my mistaken belief that it would entail
wearing a white lab coat whilst carefully examining
the atavistic traits of criminal skulls. It came as quite
a shock when Lombrosos biological determinism was
thoroughly discredited within the first few weeks of
the course.
Whilst challenging, criminology never felt like hard
work because the course material was so engaging.
I can honestly say I loved it all, and particularly
enjoyed the modules on theory, punishment, and
women and crime. I enjoyed it so much that after
three years I decided to pack in law and undertake an
Honours degree in criminology instead.
On finishing my Honours degree I went on to work
as a summer research assistant at the Institute of
Criminology and then as a researcher for the New
Zealand Police for six months. In the meantime I was
awarded a Bright Future Scholarship to undertake a
PhD in criminology in the United Kingdom. I studied
and worked at Keele University for just under five
years. My doctoral research explored criminal justice
responses to female drunkenness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Whilst working
at Keele I was privileged to work alongside many
academics whose work I had studied and admired
during my undergraduate studies. I also met and
married a fellow criminologist.
On my return to New Zealand I took up a research role
with the Department of Conservation investigating
vehicle crime and other types of criminal behaviour
at outdoor recreation and tourist areas, before joining
the Ministry of Justice as a Senior Research Advisor.
Since joining the Ministry I have worked on many
interesting projects including the 2009 New Zealand
Crime and Safety Survey, and a large literature review
on bias against ethnic minority groups in the criminal
justice system.
My advice to prospective students is to study what
you enjoy and make the most of the university
learning experience to expand and challenge your preexisting views on criminal justice issues. The single
most valuable tool I gained from my criminological
studies was the ability to think critically and examine
complex issues from competing perspectives. This
skill is crucial in the context of New Zealands public
sector.
CRIMINOLOGY AT VICTORIA
The Institute of Criminology was established at
Victoria University on 1 January 1975, and was one
of the first multi-disciplinary research and teaching
centres established in the university. Since then it has
made contributions on many levels within the crime
and justice sector, employing staff members of high
calibre with good national and international linkages.
Its location close to downtown Wellington enables
consultation with government and positions students
well for employment opportunities within the public
service.
Criminology at Victoria can be undertaken by
students as a major subject of a BA (Bachelor of Arts)
degree and they can continue on to further postgraduate possibilities. Criminology can also be combined
with other subjects such as social policy, sociology,
psychology or political science. The study of criminology at Victoria begins at 200 level.
Students seeking to advance to graduate levels can
begin with a one-year Honours degree or proceed
to Masters and PhD levels where a written thesis is
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The Condition of Security of Gated Communities under Private Governance: Findings from
Residents Experiences and Opinions; and