Become Criminologist

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Become Criminologist

A criminologist is a specialist in the fields of crime and criminal behaviour. Their work is often related to addressing the root causes of crime and preventing them from taking hold. They work with city and community officials, in addition to law enforcement, sociologists and even local government policy planners. While primarily research and policy-driven, criminologists must be willing to work with others and effectively explain complex issues and concepts.

A Degree in Criminology from an accredited university
Additional degrees related to phycology, sociology, and law
Able to perform initiate research projects and collaborate with others
Communication skills to explain concepts to officials, community leaders and the public
A real desire to tackle the causes of crime and improve societal conditions

A criminologist performs research to examine the causes of crime and analyze criminal behaviours. This research can be published in academic journals and be ready for peer-review. They plan, organize, develop and implement crime intervention programs, crime victim intervention programs, crime prevention programs and other measures within their communities. A criminologist will find themselves working with social workers, city officials, law enforcement and members of the local community in order to create unified measures to address the causes of criminal behaviour. Duties of a criminologist may include:

Examine areas experiencing crime to establish causes and patterns
Conduct research into specific types of criminal behaviour to identify commonalities
Publish articles and research papers in scholarly journals
Perform large scale studies and focus groups to gather important information
Design programs and measures in order to alleviate the causes of crime
Create safe environments where people can work together to improve their communities
Advise government officials and law enforcement regarding measures to deter criminal behaviour
Provide people with the knowledge and tools to make their communities safer

There is a high degree of education required to be a criminologist. A diploma in criminology is usually considered the minimum requirement, with many job roles only available to those with a Master’s or Doctoral Degree. Additional degrees in related fields such as phycology, law, anthropology, sociology, and social sciences will be a strong asset.

Criminologists are recruited by the law enforcement, behavioural sciences, social studies and academic sectors.

The long-term employment outlook for criminologists is considered either fair or good, with a lot depending on location. Without a lot of concrete data, there are still predicted to be some available job roles for qualified applicants looking to enter the criminology profession.

A criminologist primarily works in an office setting, either in a law enforcement, academic or research setting.

According to the CNP code (national classification of occupations), here are additional and related titles for a criminologist: