Love to solve crimes or have a keen eye for investigations? Then, pursue your higher studies in Criminology, which is an in-depth study of crime and deviant behaviour.

Criminology deals with an extensive study of any crime from analysing its motive to solving it. This calls for examining the background and behavioural pattern of the offender as well as the victim during the investigation.

“Criminology finds out psychological and scientific methods for interrogation. It also studies the judiciary and the law system of the country, along with how to tackle law violations, prevention of crime, and behaviours, working culture and ethics of the police,” said Dr Febin Baby, HOD, Department of Criminology and Police Science, St Thomas College, Thrissur.

According to Dr Febin, Criminology is a productive yet challenging career option across the world in the present times. “This course is often sidelined, but the relevance of it prevails in the wake of the spike in the rate of all sorts of crimes across our country,” he added.

Criminology & Forensic Science are different

Most people confuse Criminology with Forensic Science, however, these are two interdisciplinary studies which revolve around a common term 'crime'. In simpler words, the former deals with an overall analysis of a crime investigation as well as the law system and the latter develops or applies scientific skills to look into the minutest details or evidence to solve any crime or legal dispute.

Areas to study

A Criminology syllabus includes Sociology of Crime, Criminal Law, Juvenile and Gender Justice System, theories and nature of punishment, police violations, causes and prevention and Radical Criminology. “Forensic Science and Psychology are often offered as complementary subjects in this course,” said Dr Febin, who is also a visiting faculty and resource person for various institutions such as Kerala Police Academy, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, and Kerala Excise Academy.

Job opportunities

“Candidates interested in pursuing a career in Criminology must be competent and a keen observer. He/ she must also explore the various specializations in this field and opt one according to their preference for their post-graduation or further studies.” said Dr Febin.

Post-graduates in Criminology are being hired in NGOs as project leads/coordinators. They are also recruited by private and public sector organisations. “MNCs such as TCS are looking out for these graduates for their Business Intelligence Department. Meanwhile, banks hire Criminology graduates for their Fraud Investigation Team. This sector also offers a wide range of opportunities in the public sector and special wings such as Crime Data Analysis,” he said.

Dr Febin added that countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also hiring Criminology graduates if they have pursued a post-graduation or additional course in this subject from their universities or colleges.

Eligibility

Candidates with minimum 50% marks in any stream in Class 12 can apply for this course.

Educational institutions offering this course

St Thomas College, Thrissur

Maharaja's College, Mysore

National Forensic Sciences University, Gujarat