Criminology 101

I am writing to emphasize the urgent need for criminology to become a compulsory part of the training for law-enforcement officers. With my background as a criminologist and educator, and my hands-on experience working with a law-enforcement agency, I have seen firsthand how the absence of specialized knowledge can affect the performance of officers dealing with crime prevention and control.

I have interacted with officers who came from diverse academic backgrounds –engineering, sociology, and international relations – yet found themselves in roles requiring specialized investigative skills. They were often unprepared for the unique challenges posed by criminal behaviour, interrogation, and crime scene investigation. This gap in education can be bridged by integrating criminology into law-enforcement training programmes.

Rukaiya Ashraf Abbasi

Karachi