Subject details

By the end of this subject, students should develop the practical and conceptual skills that are beneficial for conducting crime analysis, diagnosing crime problems and recommending tactics to prevent or disrupt criminal activity.

At the completion of this subject students will be able to:

  1. discuss in depth concepts relating to theories of crime, crime analysis, hypothesis generation and testing, situational crime prevention and their inter-connections
  2. critically analyse the role of opportunity in offender decision making
  3. develop a sophisticated understanding of the practice of crime analysis (interpreting the criminal environment) and crime prevention through reflective practice.
    • Introduction to crime analysis and investigation
    • Rational Choice Theory
    • Routine Activity and Crime Pattern Theory
    • Crime as a process: crime scripts
    • Approaches to Critical Thinking
    • Systematic Model of Crime Analysis
    • Repeat Victimisation
    • Geographic profiling
    • Crime Mapping
    • Situational Crime Prevention
    • Crime Prevention Through Environment Design
    • Design against Crime

  • Study resources

    • Instructional methods

      • Discussion forum/Discussion Board
      • Online assignment submission

    • Online materials

      • Resources and Links
      • Audio-Video streaming
      • Online Assessment
      • Printable format materials

Equivalent subjects

You cannot enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:

  • GRF-MCCJ7024

Special requirements

No special requirements

Please note: This subject was previously titled Crime Analysis.

This subject is no longer on offer in 2018.

On completion of this subject 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 subject 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 subject is pragmatic. Students do not need high level mathematical ability to do well in this subject, only systematic and clear thinking.

Assessment details will be advised at the beginning of the subject offering.

  • Assignment 1 (10%)
  • Assignment 2 (50%)
  • Quizzes (40%)