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Study undergraduate 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

In this specialised double degree, students will learn about the causes of crime and society&#39;s response to it, whilst developing a core of IT technical knowledge related to Information Systems and Network Security.Graduates of the program will have a broad and coherent body of knowledge in the fields of criminology and criminal justice, including an in-depth understanding of various theoretical frameworks underpinning the study of criminal behaviour, victimisation and criminal justice responses to crime, and crime prevention.Additionally, students will have a broad and coherent body of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts in ICT problem solving (i.e., how to use modelling methods and processes to understand problems, handle abstraction and design solutions), ICT professional knowledge (i.e., ethics, professionalism, teamwork concepts and issues, interpersonal communication, societal issues/legal issues/privacy, history and status of discipline), technology building (i.e., programming and human-computer interaction), and/or technology resources (i.e., hardware and software fundamentals, data and information management, and networking).

Combine a knowledge of the criminal justice system with ICT problem solving in this double degree. You’ll unlock careers in cybercrime detection and prevention, intelligence, and law enforcement. Topics range from criminology to coding.

Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice/Bachelor of Information Technology

Want to know how to stop crime before it even happens? What motivates people to break the law and what deters them?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?

Learn the workings of governments for broad career options in private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. Explore political structures and processes across the world. Think about the changing nature of crime. Compare economies and democracies.

Bachelor of Political Science 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

Crime, Society and Culture

Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour

Doing Criminology

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

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.

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 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.

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.

Delve deeper into your criminology studies. You’ll learn how to systematically analyse data to reveal crime patterns and characteristics. Cover the crime theories that form the basis for various police forces’ crime prevention initiatives.

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.

This subject was previously known as Sociology of Crime.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.

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. 

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.

Understanding Domestic and Family Violence

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

Course results for Griffith University Undergraduate Criminology Subjects

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