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Study graduate certificate online with Griffith University through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

Postgraduate studies in criminology and criminal justice provide a pathway to professional advancement for those working in these fields. The degrees are designed to provide an overview of criminological theory and research, the workings of the criminal justice system and allied organisations, insight into key policy debates and an understanding of research methods.
The degrees introduce social and psychological explanations of crime, as well as contemporary debates in criminological theory. Beyond the core elements of the degree in policing, community development, crime prevention, law and behaviour and social science research methods you will have the opportunity to study electives from criminal justice, research practice, policing, corrections and crime prevention.

Gain an overview of the theory, research methodology, and the workings of the criminal justice system. Study crime analysis, mapping, intelligence, forensic mental health, prevention, and law and behaviour to work in criminal justice fields.

Graduate Certificate in Criminology and Criminal Justice

This degree will provide you with specialised knowledge to examine and combat cyber crime.You&#39;ll graduate with the skills to investigate cyber crime activities using digital forensic tools and techniques. You&#39;ll also be uniquely qualified to identify current and future trends in cyber crime, analyse the behaviours and motivations of cyber criminals and assess the effectiveness of cyber crime mitigation strategies.

Explore contemporary approaches to preventing cyber crime in Australia and across the world. You’ll establish the fundamentals of cyber security and get to know digital forensics. Learn through the lens of the criminal justice system.

Graduate Certificate in Cyber Crime

Fraud and Cybercrime

Gender, Crime and Justice

Mental Disorder and Crime

Crime, Society and Justice

Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour

Doing Criminology

Social Problems - (In)equality and (In)justice

Criminological Theories

Understanding Domestic and Family Violence

Developing Professionally 1

This subject is intended as an introduction to research in criminal justice and criminology. Some of the students taking this subject will likely enter professions in criminal justice and some may move into more research-oriented professions in criminology. Therefore, emphasis is placed on the research methodologies used in the criminal justice and criminological literature. Students begin by learning the logic of research methodology in the social sciences and then learn how researchers in criminology carry out research projects.This subject is designed to expose students to the key issues, concepts, and topics related to research methods in criminal justice and criminological research. A wide range of topics will be covered, including, the research process, data, variables, research designs, data analysis, and the connection between policy and research. Emphasis will be placed on pitfalls associated with each part of research methods, as well as the key ethical issues that are encountered throughout the research process. After completing this course, students will be able to demonstrate a foundational understanding of the main issues that are directly relevant to research methods as it applies to criminal justice and criminological research.Assessment details will be advised at the beginning of the subject offering.

Previously named &quot;Psychology of Crime&quot;, this course is designed to complement Crime, Society and Culture. This subject addresses the question &quot;What is it about individuals and their experiences that produce criminal behaviour?&quot;. Psychologists are concerned with how an individual’s biological make-up, personality, upbringing, current circumstances and so forth produce criminal behaviour. The unit examines criminal behaviour in terms of nine theoretical perspectives: evolutionary theories, genetic theories, biobehavioural theories, psychodynamic theories, trait theories, behavioural theories, social learning theories, development theories, and environmental theories. The unit also examines the implications of these theories for three areas criminology: the functioning of the criminal justice system, crime prevention, and the rehabilitation of offenders.

Delve into scientific theories that explain why people become criminals. You’ll explore links between criminal behaviour and personality, upbringing, and more. Use this knowledge in crime prevention and offender rehabilitation.

Domestic and family violence is a pressing social issue with significant implications for individuals, couples, families, and communities. It makes up a large portion of cases in justice, health, and social systems in Australia and around the world. This course provides students with a critical understanding of the dynamics, distribution, outcomes, and responses to domestic and family violence. Students will learn about key topics such as coercive control, how children are involved in domestic and family violence, the role of technology in abuse, and domestic violence homicide using real-world examples. Students will gain critical research literacy skills to interpret key data sources on domestic and family violence. Students will practice skills to effectively and accurately communicate complex information about domestic and family violence.

Developing Professionally is a core subject designed to assist students to understand their future professional context and employment. This course focuses on professional skills in the workplace, linking theory and practice and reflective thinking skills. Obtaining a 5 in Developing Professionally is one pre-requisite for Griffith University criminology students planning on enrolling in 3008CCJ Professional Practice.Prerequisites: CCJ102 Developing Professionally 1; 1002CCJ Developing Professionally 1 OR CCJ101 Criminology Skills; 1001CCJ Criminology SkillsStudents should not enrol in the subject if they have completed: CCJ307 Developing Professionally; 3007CCJ Developing Professionally

Continue on your pathway to a real career in criminology or the criminal justice system. You’ll delve into the employment process as you keep exploring your personal strengths and ethos. The professional workplace is just around the corner—so get ready!

Developing Professionally 2

Developing professionally 1 is a core subject designed to assist students to self-reflect on themselves, envisage future career options as well as use this knowledge to develop a plan to best position themselves for employment after graduation. Throughout the subject, students will articulate a vision of themselves and organisations of interest in the criminal justice system. Students will also gain a thorough understanding of who they are, their personal strengths and values and what this means professionally. Lastly, students will be introduced to a step-by-step process for career planning in which they will reflect on themselves, explore career possibilities, and make decisions and set goals as part of a personal development plan to clarify their career pathway and position themselves on the market for employment after graduation. This course takes students through their own personal journey for a professional purpose. Students that have completed CCJ101, as part of their program structure, do not need to complete CCJ102, however if they wish to take this subject it can be added as a free choice elective.Students should not enrol in the subject if they have completed: 2019CCJ, COM15 or CCJ16

Start thinking about your future career in the criminal justice system. Get planning now so that after you graduate your pathway is clear. Think about your strengths, your strategy, and your vision. Find and explore organisations that share your ethos.

This subject was previously known as Sociology of Crime and Crime, Society and Culture.This subject introduces foundational and contemporary social theories of crime and justice. Theories are examined in their socio-historical context, with attention given to the role of theory in knowledge production about crime causation, criminal justice policy, and social views of justice.Criminology is the social scientific study of crime – its causes, its effects and the manner in which societies define, understand and respond to criminal activity. In one sense or another, all societies have sought to control crime or deviance, and all cultures have explanations as to why and how people do bad or wicked things. Criminology, however, is a fairly new historical invention, its origins dating less than two hundred years. Yet even within this time, the social sciences have developed diverse and sometimes conflicting explanations, theories and approaches to understanding, explaining, and redressing crime. Psychology, political science, economics, and sociology all evidence distinct epistemological and methodological approaches to questions of what causes crime, how is crime defined, and how should we as a society respond to crime.How we define crime is also intrinsically tied to how we collectively and individually define justice. This question is essential in understanding how societies formally and informally define and respond to crime. Formal responses include criminal and civil justice mechanisms tasked with several overlapping and sometimes competing aims such as retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and public safety. Informal responses include social norms and values, social movements, and collective social actions. In some cases there is strong alignment between formal and informal definitions and justice values in society, for example in the case of drink-driving which was once more widely tolerated but over time has become seen by the majority of the public and thus dealt with by policymakers as a serious offence. In other cases there is less alignment between formal and informal definitions and responses to crime, for example in current debates about how to best respond to illicit drug use – through a criminal justice approach, or through a public health approach that decriminalises or legalises use and distribution of some types of illicit drugs?In this regard, theories of crime and justice are not abstracted from the daily experiences and problems in people’s lives. On the contrary, we all “theorise,” every day, in our own lives. When a friend is arrested for drink driving, we theorise how we should respond to them. Do we agree they should lose their license as a result? Do we think they should be required to undergo treatment? What should they have to do in order to take responsibility for this offence and be allowed to drive again? We theorise when we are victimised – why did someone harm us, and what should be done about it? We theorise when bad things happen to people and nothing is done about it.All of this is “theorising,” where we draw from what we know or believe about “what works” and we compare or contrast that against what we know about the situation we are examining. One problem of course is that we are sometimes wrong – individually and collectively – and part of the role of the social sciences is to investigate and challenge “common sense” notions of crime and justice. This does not mean that the social sciences are above reproach, or that social science itself is infallible. On the contrary, as we will see, the social sciences have offered explanations of crime ranging from the plausible to the absurd. What the social sciences provide, however, is a set of rules or guidelines for how to make knowledge claims about crime beyond that of our own experiences or common sense, and how to test and retest these claims until they are more widely accepted or rejected in lieu of other explanations.Another issue, however, is that people often have very different perspectives on what counts as justice. Social science can measure these attitudes and beliefs, but it is a relatively poor vehicle for making moral statements. Justice and injustice are subjective concepts, which often depend on people’s individual and collective social experiences. What social science does offer, however, is the possibility for us to transcend our own experiences and look at ourselves and our beliefs from the perspective of how others define and experience injustice. For more than a century these have been primary goals of sociology, anthropology, and other social sciences that seek to understand how people experience and make sense of the world, beyond testing hypotheses or measuring social phenomenon.This class explores and investigates these big questions through the lens of social scientific theories and research on crime, justice, and society. As criminology is a multidisciplinary field of study, emphasis is given to sociological, socio-legal, social-psychological, philosophical, and other approaches. Emphasis is also given to exploring and understanding “the social construction of knowledge” – how knowledge about these questions is produced, what type of knowledge are privileged (or silenced) and why, and how such knowledge shapes people’s symbolic and material realities in concrete ways.Students should not enrol in this subject if they have completed CCJ27 Sociology of Crime or CCJ207 Crime, Society and Culture.

This is a survey subject that aims to introduce students to the central concepts of modern theories of crime, linkages with their historic antecedents and criteria for evaluating theoretical validity. A range of different perspectives will be presented covering the dominant sociological and psychological explanations of crime and criminality. On completion, students will have an understanding of the nature of theory, the ideas of key theorists and have the ability to critically evaluate theoretical explanations.Using an inter-disciplinary approach, this course explores how offenders and offending have been conceptualised, and the consequent implications for the criminal justice system and interventions /programs that we develop and implement to address offending. There are a diverse range of theoretical frameworks used to understand crime; in this course we will particularly focus on sociological, psychological, biological, and situational/environmental perspectives. The types of policies and interventions which have been promoted, and adopted to respond to offenders, have been influenced by the extent to which weight is given to individual, social or environmental factors.This subject will consider how different theoretical approaches can be applied to understand a selection of contemporary crime problems, the strengths and weaknesses of different explanations and the implications for prevention and intervention.

Through the lens of sociological, psychological and biological perspectives, you’ll appreciate how offenders and offending have been conceptualized. Use your learning to articulate the resulting implications on the criminal justice system.

This subject covers a range of technology-enabled crimes, including attacks on computer hardware (i.e., viruses, ransomware attacks, etc.) and those crimes in which computers are used as the primary facilitator of the crime (i.e., online fraud, cyber terrorism, cyber stalking, cyber bullying, online child exploitation, etc.).Fraud and cybercrime are evolving and contemporary crime categories. These crimes have significant impact on the financial and emotional wellbeing of victims, along with broader societal impact. Current approaches to preventing, detecting and punishing these crimes have proven to be challenging as governments, law enforcement and regulatory agencies attempt to combat their growing prevalence and sophistication of offender methodologies.Part 1 introduces students to the broad concepts of fraud and cybercrime, providing a foundation on which to develop more specific understandings of the multi-faceted nature of these crimes and their prevalence. We will consider the nature and patterns of offending and cybercrime victimology.Part 2 provides a review of the prevalence and nature of specific types of fraud and cybercrime. Students explore topics ranging from cyber stalking through to cyber terrorism, online investment and romance fraud and identity theft and fraud.Part 3 explores prevention and investigation approaches to cybercrime.

Study the fast-moving world of tech-enabled crime. Cover viruses, ransomware attacks, online fraud and child exploitation, cyber terrorism, stalking and bullying. Consider current approaches to combatting these crimes. 

The term social problem is usually taken to refer to social conditions that affect a significant number of people within society in a negative way. Social problems are seen as being disruptive or damaging to society, as social injustices that we should be striving to solve. For example, crime and safety, violence, alcohol, and drug use are often constructed as significant social problems for many people in Australia while others are more concerned with inequality and discrimination. In fact, social problems like crime are often the consequence of factors extending beyond the individual&#39;s control, such as inequality, discrimination, prejudice, oppression, and concomitant social injustice. Sociology provides us with the critical thinking skills to understand the connection between social problems and the social structure including how social problems come to be &#39;problems&#39; in the first place. In this course, you will develop frameworks for critical sociological thought by exploring multiple intersectional axes of power, oppression, inequality, and social injustice including classism, racism and colonialism, sexism, heterosexism and transmisia, ableism, adultism, and ageism. You will learn how oppression and power within these spheres (and the intersections between them) are vital to understanding the social problems of most concern to the discipline of criminology and reflect on how (in)justice might be mitigated. The knowledge gained will equip you with the tools to do criminology in a socially just way.

Learn about different forms of power and oppression—and how they’re linked to social problems like crime. You’ll explore sociology and practice critical thinking. Approach criminology in a socially fair way.

This subject provides an opportunity for students to integrate theoretical knowledge and empirical analytic skills acquired in their program through a practical research problem. Students will be expected to complete a small research project (based on topics provided by the degree convenor).
This subject integrates the knowledge and skills acquired through the Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice or Master of Forensic Mental Health. As a capstone degree, it provides an opportunity for students to put into practice this knowledge and skills through conducting a small research project. For feasibility and ethical reasons, the degree convenor will provide a list of research problems. Under the supervision of the degree convenor, students will select a problem, develop and implement a design, and write up a report. Although the project is an individual responsibility, students will work collaboratively to discuss problems and issues at different stages of the process.
CCJ747 should be completed in the final session of study. Students must have permission of the Program Director or Advisor to enrol earlier in their program.

Combine your criminological knowledge and research skills into your individual project. You’ll define a complex crime or criminal justice problem, then develop and implement a project design, and write up your research report.

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