Key Takeaways:
- Criminology primarily focuses on the study of crime as a social phenomenon. It delves into the causes, consequences, and prevention of criminal behavior from a sociological, psychological, and biological perspective.
- This field emphasizes research methods, statistical analysis, and the development of theories to understand criminal behavior and societal responses to crime.
- Criminal justice focuses on the structures and processes of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, court systems, and corrections. It is more concerned with the application of laws, policies, and practices in the real world.
- This field covers the management and operations of various components of the criminal justice system.
There isn’t just one difference between a criminal justice and criminology degree. However, these two fields are often incorrectly presented in the media and misunderstood by the public. Despite the fact that they share certain characteristics, these two academic areas are quite different.
The Major Differences
Criminology is the social science that formally studies crime. It shares strong scientific foundations and characteristics with sociology. Criminologists seek to:
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- understand the reasons behind crimes
- learn what motivates criminals
- determine how crimes can be prevented
Criminology activities involve:
- extensive research
- statistical analysis
- professional literature reviews
The goal of criminologists is to create better law enforcement responses and have more effective social controls on crime.
On the other hand, criminal justice-based professionals focus on:
- how laws are made
- how enforcement occurs
- how punishment is carried out
It involves all the separate stages of the justice system. This includes:
- initial crime detection
- police response
- court processes
- correction administration
- rehabilitation activities
It involves:
- legal responses to crimes
- law enforcement activities
- how the legal system enforces laws
- how offenders are punished
- how victims are treated
Criminology Degrees
Criminology degrees are less popular because most students think that it will prevent them from working in the field with the public. Criminology is the fascinating study of crime as a social phenomenon. Earning a criminology degree is ideal for students who want to find a job:
- in the legal system
- public administration
- academic research
For example, a student could focus on the theoretical debates about the administration of justice in the country.
Courses in this degree study the types, causes, and consequences of crime. Courses will explore criminal psychology and sociology. Students will learn about:
- law
- forensics
- history
- statistics
- research
- political science
There are many academic subdivisions within the field of criminology. This includes bio-criminology, which studies the biological foundations of criminal behavior, and criminalistics, which is the statistical study of crime detection. Feminist criminology focuses on women, penology studies the prison system, and comparative criminology studies crime across cultures.
Criminal Justice Degrees
This degree is best for anyone who wants to work for courts, corrections or law enforcement organizations. This degree studies the governmental institutions that maintain social control, manage the occurrences of crime and enforce consequences for violators. Unlike criminology, this degree is only concerned with directly confronting criminal behaviors in society. Students will learn about criminal administration, investigation and profiling. They will also learn about judicial processes, system reforms and organizations.
Anyone who graduates with this degree will have better career options. Some of the most common careers for these majors include police officer, deputy sheriff, parole officer, corrections counselor and probation officer. Some of the more difficult jobs to obtain with this degree include State trooper, AFT agent, Federal air marshal, FBI agent, Customs and Immigration officer.
Anyone who wants a coveted Criminal Justice job with a federal law enforcement agency can search job listings for organizations like the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
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