Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence Minor

The Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence Minor is a course of study that provides criminal justice and other Radford University students a foundation of knowledge and skills that will translate to careers as a law enforcement crime analyst. Crime analysis is a profession and process in which a set of quantitative and qualitative techniques are used to analyze data valuable to police agencies and their communities. It includes the analysis of crime and criminals, crime victims, disorder, quality of life issues, traffic issues, and internal police operations. The products created by crime analysts support criminal investigation and prosecution, patrol activities, crime prevention and reduction strategies, problem solving, and the evaluation of police efforts.

Crime analysis and criminal intelligence are rapidly growing, emergent professions in the larger criminal justice field.  There is increased emphasis on hiring trained, skilled analysts at the local, state, and Federal levels.  Although senior level analysts have advanced degrees, the educational requirement for an entry level analyst is typically a bachelor’s degree. Most job advertisements indicate that hiring agencies are looking for criminal justice majors or other social and behavioral science majors.  A student with a criminal justice, psychology, or sociology major and a minor in crime analysis would be well situated to enter this career field. For more information see, The International Association of Crime Analysts website.

REAL Curriculum: This minor fulfills the R (Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning) area of Radford University’s the REAL Curriculum. Students will examine underlying theory and causes of crime with an emphasis on applying scientific principles, problem solving, and established analysis techniques to serial offending, criminal networks, victimology, and crime events to identify patterns and causes of crime in the local situational environment.  They will also use quantitative methods and techniques to understand chronic crime and disorder problems occurring in local communities, long-term quantitative crime trend and spatial analysis, as well as process and impact evaluations of crime reduction and crime prevention strategies. While this Minor resides in the Department of Criminal Justice and focuses on the analysis of crime and disorder, students from any major are encouraged to consider the minor to enhance their quantitative, technological, and statistical abilities by applying them to an important social problem.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR

The Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence Minor includes six courses that amount to 21 credits that introduce students to the crime analysis profession as well as provide knowledge of crime analysis data and skills in relevant technology at the 300-level and more in-depth knowledge and skills at the 400-level. Note that in the three 4-credit lab courses, lab work is inclusive so no additional registration is needed for the lab credit.

General Education Course Required (3 credits), choose one:

• STAT 130 Understanding Statistics in Society or STAT 200 Introduction to Statistics

Specific Crime Analysis Courses, also Criminal Justice electives (18 credits):

• CRJU 310, Introduction to Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence (3 credits), and CRJU 311, Crime Analysis Data and Technology (Lab, 4 credits), are prerequisites for the 400 level minor courses and can be taken consecutively or together in the same semester. These can also be taken as general electives by criminal justice majors and others.
• CRJU 405, Tactical Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence (Lab, 4 credits), and CRJU 406, Strategic Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence (Lab, 4 credits).  Students must take at least one of these courses before taking the capstone. These courses are only for crime analysis minors since they require CRJU 310 and 311.
• Students take the CRJU 460, Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence Capstone (3 credits) towards the end of the minor and only after taking CRJU 310, 311, and 405 OR 406.

A grade of "C-" or higher is required for courses to count toward the minor.

If you have additional questions, contact Dr. Rachel Santos, the Minor Coordinator (rsantos5@radford.edu).

Course Descriptions:

CRJU 310: Introduction to Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence: 3 credits

Survey of the theoretical foundations, methods, and application of crime analysis, criminal intelligence, and the analysis profession as it is practiced in modern public safety agencies.

CRJU 311: Crime Analysis Data and Technology (Lab): 4 credits

Introduces students to data and technology used within the criminal justice system and for crime analysis. Skills taught include data collection and collation as well as use of specific software applications to conduct crime analysis.

CRJU 405: Tactical Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence (Lab): 4 credits

Examination of the specific data, techniques, and application of tactical crime analysis as they relate to repeat criminal intelligence analysis, repeat incident analysis, crime pattern identification, and dissemination of results.

CRJU 406: Strategic Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence (Lab): 4 credits

Examination of the specific data, techniques, and application of strategic and administrative crime analysis as they relate to problem analysis, long-term quantitative trend and spatial analysis, and crime analysis for accountability.

CRJU 460: Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence Capstone: 3 credits

Students complete their own crime analysis project from data acquisition to presentation of findings. Students also critically examine current crime analysis products and techniques to be prepared for a career in crime analysis.