Criminology Society Official Thread!!!

Anyone know what probation work is like? Been thinking of doing that after my degree. Might be better to go straight into work after a degree and then do a masters when I've got some good work experience under my belt.

I was looking into it - but after trying to get work experience and being told ''no'' and having the phone slammed down on me - I swiftly changed my mind!

I go to Court on a reg basis (volunteer) and the probation staff are always working their socks off, run down with work and try their very hardest to get co operation with the offenders which from what I have seen is not always easy.

If I find out any information and etc which may be of use to you in terms of what its like exactly, I will let you know.

Ouch. Who do they think they are, a Magic Circle firm? Seems a bit silly if it's that hard to get into considering I can become an accountant for Centrica and earn more. Assuming I pass the ACCA exams and all etc.

I will be grateful for additional information. Will pay a visit to careers service when term time begins. Waying up the pros and cons of essetially: investigative journalism, MI5, probation, and being a Home Office researcher.

On a slightly different subject, I've just started my masters dissertation and have been quite surprised at how difficult it is to get organisations to talk to you and/or let you in. I have the 'right' connections and find it hard, so I can't imagine how frustrating others find it. I can't help wonder what research opportunities are being missed by the lack of cooperation.

I imagine shed loads. Partly why I considered being an investigative journalist instead. I'd love to be responsible for undercovering police brutality that made it possible for an overdue conviction of a murder of a citizen under the execution of police duty. I imagine one more case since the G20 protests will be enough.

Interesting. I'm curious, what do you feel is appealing about uncovering a case of police brutality? Was the G20 incident truly a case of brutality, (hard to be sure if you wasn't there to witness it all)? And, if you do manage to uncover such an incident, then what do you hope to achieve/change? I assume the desire is more than fame, recognition and money?

The problem with journalism, is that it's often so biased, I struggle to put much weight to it. Bottom line, good news doesn't sell, which is probably why journalists/news is so untrusted. I appreciate that's a sweeping statement, but the stats strongly support it. Likewise, I have no doubt, some Police Officers really do need 'dealing with', but that doesn't mean the whole system is in the same boat.

Don't misunderstand me, everything and everywhere has issues, just look at how dishonest/corrupt our politicians are, which is why my research is on Police corruption!

Bono

I have applied to uni and had all 5 offers for Criminology, but i haven't actually been to any open days so i have no idea what the unis are like

i have applied to Sheffield Hallam, Coventry, Leicester (which is 3 B's so doubt i can get in there), UCLan and Leeds Met.

Any one have any experience in any of these unis?

I can help I'm at Sheffield Hallam studying Criminology and am in my first year... anything in particular you want to know about it? I'm also a Student Ambassador so give tour guides to prospective students.

Oooh ! hello well just basically what is the uni like, the course, the night life? i've looked at accomadation and that all looks really nice. what other unis did you apply to and why did you pick sheffield hallam? haha sorry so many questions ! thankyou

Hi well... i'll break it down.

The uni
It's amazing! I absolutely love it. The uni is split into two campuses: city campus and collegiate campus. Criminology is on the collegiate campus so the nearest accommodation to it would be The Forge. I'm at Archways and takes 20 minutes to walk or hop on the 80 or 86 bus outside HUBS (student union) which takes you straight there. Or if you walk a bit further into town there is another bus stop besides the Sheffield wheel, and you can take any of the 80's buses. It costs £1 return on the First bus or 50p single on a Stagecoach.
I really like collegiate campus although it's on quite a steep hill so a bit slippery coming up and down in these icy conditions. We have a huge library with a sufficient number of each textbook that Lecturers will suggest to you. Although i've bought 3 of the suggested literatures as the books are always on loan around assignment deadlines and exam dates.

The course
It's split into 6 modules which you may have read on the website:
Research methods for the social sciences
Politics, policy and social issues (no politics background needed)
Social science foundations (a bit of a loose module... quite like, PSHE)
Introducing Criminology
Crime, culture and society
Criminal justice systems

As I said earlier i've bought 3 of the suggested texts that the university advised. They are:
Criminology by Tim Newburn - for Crime, culture and society module
The SAGE dictionary of Criminology by McLaughlin and Muncie - for Introducing criminology module
Social research methods by Alan Bryman - for Research methods module.

There are many others but as books are quite expensive, I bought the main ones and can refer to any others by getting books on loan at the library.

The nightlife
Is also AMAZING! We have the student union which is near to city campus and it hosts a lot of events:
Pounded, which is every Monday - if you get tickets the week before the events they're £1 or £2.50 on the door. Many drinks are also a £1
Sheff One, which is a bit like Pounded but on the Saturday and tickets are £3 adv. or £4 on the door. Cheap drinks.
Last Laugh Comedy, which is a comedy gig every other Sunday... £5 adv. or £7 on the door... it's hilarious

We also have Embrace (nightclub) in the city centre opposite the town hall.
Babylon - 90's themed nightclub... Student Tuesdays which allow £1 entry on door with student card... £1 drinks
O2 academy which hosts Propoganda - big indie night every Friday. £4 for students

and many many more... the list could go on! But you'll soon hear about them when you arrive at uni as you get bombarded with leaflets!! Or you could join the 'Sheffield Hallam Union/University club nights & events' facebook group. They invite you to all their events.

Other potential uni's and why I picked Hallam
I initially chose:
Manchester Met.
London Met.
Anglia Ruskin
Uni. Lincoln

It was initially a toss up between Hallam and Lincoln as they were away from home, but not too far. I was very close to going to Lincoln but after a discussion with my boyfriend who is in the RAF close to Lincoln and my friends it was decided that Sheffield would be a better idea. My boyfriend thought that Sheffield was a much nicer city than Lincoln. I'd also been to Sheffield once before to visit a friend and was really impressed with how close everything was. With a YP railcard it's only £1.45 return to Meadowhall shopping centre (which is epic!) or you could hop on the tram which is £3 for a day rider.
Although the league tables weren't a part of my decision, Hallam is higher up the table now and is deemed a respectable university to attend to.

Hope that this essay helps

Right, speaking of libraries.

How are everyone's libraries for criminology?

I think mine is retarded. For example, nearly all texts, even essential reading, are only available as a three week loan with one copy. Further, the Oxford Handbook and Newburn's texts are not even a reference title. They are both, three week loan copies and one of each.

Also, journal articles. Do you guys have the International Review of Victimology and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence?

This is shocking for a university who dick waves over their league tables' 'achievements'.

Durham **** off.