Overview
The role of a forensic psychologist is fascinating, and if you’ve always been interested in criminal behaviour and you’d love to play a part in making the world a better, safer place, then read on!
Analysing the crime. Getting to the bottom of the motive. Giving evidence before the court, all eyes on you. Forensic psychology is one of the fastest-growing disciplines within the field, making it an incredibly popular career choice. Experts in the subject will work within the criminal justice system, attempting to discover why people commit crimes, as well as reduce offending rates. In many cases, the contribution of a forensic psychologist is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to solving cold cases.
In this captivating level three course, you’ll look at the history and development of forensic psychology, going back as far as the Early Modern period. You’ll examine psychobiological theories of crime, investigating whether the genetics of environment plays a greater role, as well as the fascinating studies that have been undertaken to answer this question.
Delve deep inside the psychology of serious offenders, looking at different categories and types of crime, as well as the impact they can have upon the victim
You’ll take a look at offender profiling, as well as how risk assessments are conducted in an attempt to reduce recidivism. Ready to open a window into a world few dare to tread? Then let’s go!
What you'll learn
This unit examines the origins and development of forensic psychology. You’ll learn about the professional bodies that Forensic Psychologists must be registered with to practise in the UK, as well as discover organisations that hire forensic psychologists, and identify relevant client groups. In addition, you’ll read about structuralism vs functionalism and what forensic psychologists do.
This unit explores the three domains of psychology: biological, psychological and social. You’ll look at closely at Psycho-biological theories such as societal or macro-level theories, community or locality theories, group and socialisation influence theories, and theories surrounding individuals. To aid your progress, you’ll consider the nature/nurture debate and a range of studies and hypothesis, such as twin, family and adoption studies. You’ll also look at the historical beginnings of psycho-biological research, body shape in relation to crime, as well as Hans Eysenck’s theory of Personality.
Moving on, you’ll learn how theories of offending and criminality can be broadly categorised into psycho-biological and psycho-social theories. You’ll understand that contemporary psychology generally accepts that the trajectory to offending behaviour is characterised by a combination of psycho-biological predispositions accompanied by psycho-social risk factors. You’ll also uncover a number of psycho-social risk factors that could lead to offending behaviour. In relation to this, you’ll read around Baumrind ‘Four types of parenting’, parent-child interactions, and characteristics of the family.
In this unit, you’ll understand that the perceived seriousness of a crime depends on a several factors. You learn how some crimes are serious sorely because of the cost in terms of human life, but for financial reasons too. You’ll also be able to explain the three categorises of serious offending: arson, violent, and sexual offending. In relation to this, you’ll read around delinquent offenders, the development of violent behaviour and whether every violent act can be categorised as a criminal act.
Throughout this unit, you’ll discover the basics of profiling, what is meant by an ‘offender profile’ and how this differs in real-life to the popular representation often delivered by the media or in periodicals or crime dramas. You’ll also learn that through university-based academic work that there are active offender profilers in the United Kingdom who are submerged in crime-centred research and statistics. Finally, you’ll be able to describe two key approaches to offender profiling.
Upon completing this final unit, you’ll gain knowledge of risk assessment relating to the effective functioning of the criminal justice system. You’ll learn how trained criminal justice practitioners identify risk-levels and likelihood of an offender re-offending, looking at areas of behaviour, history and experience. You’ll gain insight into existing risk assessments developed and researched using samples allowing for complex statistical investigation of the validity and reliability of such measures.
Extra info
Awarding Body
With a heritage stretching back over 150 years, NCFE is one of the largest awarding bodies in the UK. Over 340,000 students were awarded certification by NCFE last year.
NCFE Customised Qualifications are bespoke, unregulated qualifications developed to meet the specific needs of learners. These courses fit in where there are no other regulated qualifications are available. Meaning you can achieve recognition from a well-respected awarding body, even if there isn’t a pre-existing qualification in a certain subject area.
Course Outcome
At the end of this course, successful learners will receive an NCFE Customised Qualification and a Learner Unit Summary which lists the details of all of the units you have completed as part of your course.
How is this course assessed or examined?
Throughout this course, you may be expected to complete assignments, essays, research projects, presentations, video/audio recordings, and practical learning sessions to meet the requirements of your course. This information will be included in your study pack detailing exactly what you need to do to accomplish your goals as a student.
Entry requirements
There are no formal entry requirements for this course, however, it is recommended that you have an intermediate ability to read and write English.
