Criminology is a social science that is concerned with the scientific study of crime. A criminologist is a social scientist who specializes in the study and control of crime. Criminologists gather and analyze statistics about crimes and the people who commit them in order to identify patterns of criminal behavior but are not on the front lines fighting crime like police officers.
In India, criminology is a dveloping field. Criminology careers can be divided into three broad categories: Law Enforcement Criminologists, Professors and Academic Researchers, and Correctional Officers and Social Workers. Students who are interested in this field usually study psychology or sociology at the undergraduate level before earning a masters degree in criminology. If one doesn’t end up working directly in criminology, he/she can use the background to work in social services or law enforcement. NGOs, banks and teaching are good options too.Both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in criminology are offered by various institutes. The basic requirement for getting admission at the undergraduate level is Class 12th with either arts or science and at the postgraduate level is to be graduated with science or arts subjects.
Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (NICFS) in New Delhi, University of Madras(Chennai),Lucknow University, Banaras Hindu University are some of the institutes that offer courses on criminology.
Analytical skills, good understanding of psychology, sociology, good data collection ability and an empathetic and sensitive attitude towards the needs of the society and a desire to construct a safe society are the essentials skills of this field.