Tamil Nadu colleges yet to explore scope of criminology as Karnataka leads the way

Due to lack of information and awareness about the course and its prospects, there are also less takes for these programmes which offer a wide range of employment opportunities both in the government and private sectors. 

As of now, the course is offered for post graduate students in University of Madras and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) in Tirunelveli while Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Police Administration in available at DG Vaishnav College in Arumbakkam and Jayagovind Harigopal Agarwal Agarsen College in Madhavaram. In comparison, Karnataka has 23 colleges offering undergraduate courses in Criminology and forensics in both arts and science streams. 

Mangalore University, Mysore University, Karnataka University and Rani Channamma University also have masters programmes in Criminology. Dr M Srinivasan, Professor and Head of Department of M Sc Criminology & Criminal Justice Science, University of Madras said, “More than a question of visibility, it lies in the hands of the state government to make use of Criminology graduates. The students are taught papers on police administration and in prisons department as they are taught the sociology and psychology of crime and criminals. 

Tamil Nadu is a state where there is immense scope to thrive in this subject.” He claimed that the state government could provide students of criminology an added advantage in police recruitments as a large part of their course materials are related to crime and criminals. 

“Sub Inspector tests take place here, why not reserve 20 seats for students of criminology? A Sub Inspector with such a background will make qualitative change, even at Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) level, they can take up employment in related services and will put their education to good use. 

Such Job opportunities will motivate the students,” he said. Srinivasan added that the policy makers must look in to the kind of research this department does. The students of this department are currently finding employment in banks and security agencies. Mebin Wilson Thomas, Assistant Lecturer in Jain College, Karnataka, is an alumnus of Criminology Department in Madras University and had worked as part of vigilance and security team of a star hotel. 

‘‘The political barriers and lack of knowledge are reasons why this stream is not picking up steam in Tamil Nadu. Criminology studies the sociological and psychological aspects of crime, while Forensics is the analytical and scientific study like collecting evidences from a crime scene which would eventually lead to the criminal. In my opinion both must go hand in hand. Because we cover papers like Forensic Accounting and Forensic Auditing, the bright students get hired by leading corporate firms,’’ he said. 

“There are employment opportunities as most companies need people to detect and solve economic frauds and other crimes and approaching the police may affect the reputation of the company. One can even join in private security agencies or start detective agencies, Mebin added.” 

Micheal L Valan, Lecturer at DG Vaishnav College (Autonomous), said that Criminologists can make a better impact on the society as well. “Students can take up jobs as probation officers in the Juvenile Justice board and work for the Department of Social Justice. NGO administration is a paper they are taught. If few more improved papers are included to the syllabus it will make students more employable,’’ he said.