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

Griffith University’s Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, offered through Open Universities Australia, is a broad-based social science degree examining crime, the criminal justice system and related social issues. All the specialised knowledge and skills necessary for a career in the highly demanding criminal justice system are taught in this degree. This degree focuses on the causes of crime and society&#39;s response to crime. It will give you a well-rounded perspective on the various arms of the justice system and the relationships between them. You will graduate with a professional qualification in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Examine crime and its causes, society’s response and related social issues. Qualify for a career in the demanding criminal justice system in policing, corrections, security, regulatory law enforcement, crime prevention and customs

Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

This new double degree will combine the study of what makes criminals tick with an understanding of the justice system and policy making processes. With a better understanding of how policy is created and applied, plus an understanding of crime and criminal behavior, you will be equipped to influence the policy underpinning the justice system to ultimately deter crime rather than simply responding to criminal behavior.This degree will give you a better understanding of the causes and consequences of complex crime and criminal justice issues and just how it is currently dealt with by government at local, national and global levels. Could you make a difference?

Unlock careers in government and justice with this double degree. Explore how criminals commit crime and are caught. Develop your understanding of policy creation and application. Strive towards crime prevention and make your world a safer place.

Bachelor of Government and International Relations/Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Fraud and Cybercrime

White Collar Crime

Gender, Crime and Justice

Criminology Skills

Mental Disorder and Crime

Crime Analysis and Investigation

Sociology of Crime

Psychology of Crime

Doing Criminology

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

This introductory subject introduces students to key practical and academic skills necessary for their criminology and criminal justice undergraduate degree and beyond in the workplace. Students are invited to reflect on the employment opportunities open to them when they graduate, and the skills necessary to achieve their employment goals. Through the lectures, tutorials and assessments, students will build a portfolio of their skills, and consider the opportunities and resources available to them at Griffith for increasing employability. The subject focuses on the key skills of critical thinking, information literacy and communication. Students will become competent in searching for, and evaluating, criminological materials so they can think critically about criminological issues, and present their own ideas in a logical and convincing way. Students will be introduced to a range of tools to assist in their assessments beyond this subject. The subject concludes with some reflections on the opportunities available to students at Griffith to assist their professional development, and plan for their future careers. Throughout the subject, an emphasis is placed on practical activities. This is based on an understanding that students learn best by doing things and by practicing their skills

Identify the skills you'll need for a career in criminology and criminal justice. Gain awareness of the main source materials used and how to fulfill the academic requirements. Apply your criminological skills during practical activities.

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.

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.

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.

On completion, students will be conversant with the dominant theories explaining the relationship between crime and place, understand the main types of logical reasoning and be able to apply a systematic framework for analysis to crime problems. The second half of the course deals with specific topics, such as victim-, place-, offender-oriented analyses and how these inform tactical decisions and intervention work. While conceptual in parts, the objective of the course is pragmatic. Students do not need high level mathematical ability to do well in this course, only systematic and clear thinking.

This subject introduces the major 19th and 20th century theories of crime, their historical antecedents and ideological dimensions. Attention is given to street crime, white collar crime, and violence between intimates. 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.The sociological investigation of crime overlaps in many respects with these and other disciplines. At the same time, much of criminological theory and method derives from sociology, and sociology remains one of the most central disciplines in the social study of crime. Like all social sciences, sociology is rooted in the epistemology of the scientific method. Knowledge, in this sense, comes from hypotheses that are tested and retested in order to produce theories about criminal behaviour, causality, and the efficacy of treatments or punishments. This distinction is what more immediately separates criminology from other approaches to or explanations of crime.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 (including sociology) have offered explanations of crime ranging from the plausible to the absurd. And although much of criminology is oriented towards a social scientific explanation of the origins and effects of crime, other branches take a more critical look at how crime itself is conceptualized, investigated and socially constructed. Yet other branches look at how people make sense of, interpret, and understand crime and social control. These three types of investigation – causal, critical, and interpretive – roughly follow three of the major paradigms in sociology, namely functionalism, social conflict, and symbolic interactionism. In the case of criminology moreover, a fourth paradigm exists that overlaps with psychology and medicine. This approach shares with functionalism the assumption of the scientific method as a means to investigate crime, but differs insofar as it looks at specific psychological or physiological traits, and not social structures, as primary causes of criminal or anti-social behaviour. Out of these four approaches two (functionalism and social conflict) are considered “macro” approaches insofar as they look at the relationship between crime and larger social structures; and two are considered “micro” approaches insofar as they look at the relationship between crime and individuals or small groups. None of these approaches are more “correct” than the others. Rather, these approaches represent different strategies in terms of the investigation of different type of questions. Some people want to know, for example, why some criminals appear to have no remorse for the harm they cause to others. Other people want to know why racial or ethnic minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system; why men commit more crimes than women; or how effective certain policies are in preventing or deterring crime. All are valid questions that utilize different assumptions and paradigms. Thus we may say that virtually all of the sociological study of crime is today defined by etiological questions (i.e. the investigation of the origins of causes), by critical questions (i.e. the investigation of power and social control in relation to crime), and by interpretive questions, (i.e. the concept of Verstehen, or the investigation of how people symbolically construct and make sense of their own realities). The scope and breadth of these questions is enormous, and we can only hope to cover a small part of these questions in one class.

This subject was previously known as CCJ31.
This subject introduces students to the broad concept of white collar crime, examining in detail some of the most harmful categories of this type of offending. In addition to providing students with an understanding of the definition, scope and impact of this type of crime the degree focuses on explaining and preventing white collar crime. Drawing upon psychological, sociological, organisational and integrated theories of offending and victimisation, students will develop a conceptual framework for understanding how and why white collar crimes occur and its impact. Recognising, in addition to police, the pivotal role of regulatory agencies who are largely responsible for detecting and preventing white collar crime, students will examine the regulatory agency system, their role within the broader criminal justice system and the theoretical basis for how they operate. Incompatible: 3011CCJ Regulation and White Collar Crime; CCJ31 Regulation and White Collar Crime.

Formulate a conceptual understanding of how and why white collar crimes occur and their impact. Alongside the police, examine the pivotal role of regulatory agencies who are largely responsible for detection and prevention

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. 

Please note: Students who have started the Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice before 2017 do not have to do this subject as a core, but can do the subject as one of their electives.
This subject is designed to enable students to relate what they have already learned about key concepts underlying the criminology and criminal justice systems to the kinds of careers available to them upon graduation. Participation in this degree will require that students develop a broad understanding of the kinds of jobs available in the range of workplaces employing criminology and criminal justice graduates and of the knowledge and skills they demand. It will also mean that students will need to develop and articulate awareness of their own strengths and of the kinds of contributions they are best equipped to make. This degree focuses on career development, linking theory and practice and reflective thinking skills. It is therefore relevant for all students, including those with extensive work experience.

Focus on developing your career by linking theory with practice and reflective thinking skills. Examine a range of professional cultures and get ready to adapt, deploy strategies for resilience, and acquire further knowledge.

Developing Professionally

Despite the public&#39;s obsession with crime, victimisation and criminal justice, despite the morbid fear that crime and victimisation arouses, despite the endless volumes written to account for offending, victimisation and criminal justice processing, gender, the most powerful social factor of all has been virtually ignored by criminologists.&quot; (Leonard, 1982). This course explores the persistent and profound differences women and men&#39;s experiences of crime. The course considers how gender intersects with other social categories such as race, class, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity to shape crime and responses to it.

Seek to explain the profound differences between genders in crime rates, patterns, victimisation, and criminal justice system experiences and responses. Then consider intersections between gender, Indigeneity, class and sexual orientation.

Course results for Griffith University Undergraduate Criminology Degrees