Course Introduction

Criminology and At-Risk Populations introduces students to crime and criminology in Canada. Students explore different perspectives on crime. Topics for discussion include the various types of crime – violent, white collar, property, organized – as well as sociological theories regarding crime, and our responses to it. Students learn about the costs of crime: physical, psychological, economical, and social. Students are also introduced to populations which are most at-risk in Canadian society, as these individuals are those often in need of Community Service Workers. This course consists of 10 days (50 hours) of daily, participative learning sessions.

Course Prerequisites

Completion of Life-Span Development

Course Notes

Students are supplied with text books for ongoing reference. In addition to quizzes, tests, and assignments, there is a Final Exam upon completion of the course. Students must achieve a mark of 75% overall and on the Final Exam to successfully complete the course.

Course Breakdown

Crime and Criminology: The diverse nature of crime, what is criminology? What is crime? Diverse perspectives of criminologists, and the definition of crime

The Costs of Crime, At-Risk Populations: Who is victimized, at-risk populations, and why study crime? Crime and its costs

Violent Crime: Forms of violent behaviour, and emerging forms of violence

Property Crime: Forms of property crime

White Collar Crime: What is white-collar crime, and types of white-collar crime

Organized Crime: What is organized crime, organized crime groups in Canada, activities of criminal organizations, and explaining and controlling organized crime?

Sociological Theories: A focus on social and cultural factors, social structure theories, social process theories, social conflict theory, and short comings of sociology theories

Responses to Crime: A variety of responses, primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention, and future challenges in criminology