What the bill proposes for regulating criminology practice

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would regulate the professional practice of criminology in Spain, setting the requirements to practice and defining the profession's functions.
2. Only people holding an official licentiate degree or bachelor's degree in Criminology, or homologated foreign degrees, could practice. This requirement would also bind public and private sector employers.
3. The bill lists criminologists' competencies, such as preparing criminological reports, assessing recidivism risk, supporting victims, managing whistleblower channels, and preventing crime in policing, prisons, education, and digital settings.
4. Practitioners in territories with a professional association would have to join it. These associations would enforce ethical rules, represent the profession, and could impose disciplinary sanctions.
5. The bill creates a sanctions regime with minor, serious, and very serious offenses. Penalties range from written warnings to suspension from practice or expulsion from the professional association.
6. Within one year, the Government would have to propose adding criminologists to the state civil service, and universities and ministries would have to recognize criminology as a science independent from criminal law, psychology, or sociology.

Who it affects

• People with a Criminology degree: They would gain a legal framework to practice, with clear requirements, rights, duties, and mandatory membership of a professional association where one exists.
• Public administrations: They would have to include the criminologist role in their staffing lists and public employment offers.
• Companies and private entities: They could hire criminologists for prevention, complianceCompliance Programs companies use to follow the law and prevent internal wrongdoing., whistleblower channels, or victim support, always requiring the official degree.
• Criminology professional associations: They would oversee the profession, promote ongoing training, hold sanctioning powers, and have a deadline to adapt their bylaws.
• Universities: They would have to ensure suitable study programs and recognize criminology as an independent field of knowledge.

Words worth knowing

Colegiación

The requirement to register with the profession's official association in order to practice.

Código deontológico

A code of ethics: the rules of good conduct professionals in a field must follow.

Homologación

Official recognition of a foreign degree so it counts as equivalent in Spain.

Compliance

Programs companies use to follow the law and prevent internal wrongdoing.

Victimología

The branch of criminology that studies crime victims and how to protect and repair them.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries