Criminology

Categories: Sociology stubs | Criminology | Sociology

Criminology comprises the body of knowledge dealing with the causes and consequences of crime as a social phenomenon. Criminology also involves study of criminal behavior, and the impact of laws on human behavior (and vice versa). Though both deal with crime, criminology differs from criminal justice in that criminal justice focuses on the components of the justice system including police, courts, and corrections.

Research in criminology applies the scientific method to test hypotheses and ultimately develop theories that help explain the causes and other aspects of crime.

1 Schools of thought
2 Types and definitions of crime
3 Educational programs
4 See also
5 External links

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Schools of thought

Over time, several schools of thought have developed, including:

Classical school
Positivist school
Chicago school
Strain Theory
British and American Sub-Cultural Theories
Conflict theory and Marxism
Frankfurt School
Symbolic Interactionism
Statistical school
Environmental criminology
Right Realism or Neo-Classicism
Left Realism
Feminism
Postmodernism

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Classical school

The classical school is associated with Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham, and others:

People have free will to choose how to act.
Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being a 'hedonist' who seeks pleasure and avoids pain, and a 'rational calculator' weighing up the costs and benefits of the consequences of each action. Thus, it ignores the possibility of irrationality and unconscious drives as motivational factors.
Punishment (of enough severity) can deter people from crime, as the costs (penalties) outweigh benefits.

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Positivist school

On the other hand, positivist criminologists take a different stance. They presume that criminal behavior is caused by psychological, social or other specific, determining factors (e.g. poverty, education) that put some people at more of a predisposition towards crime.

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Strain Theory

Based on the work of American sociologist Robert Merton, this theory suggests that mainstream culture, especially in America, is saturated with dreams of opportunity, freedom and prosperity. Most people buy into this dream and it becomes a powerful cultural and psychological motivation. However, if the social structure of opportunities is unequal and prevents the majority from realising the dream, some of them will turn to illegitimate means.

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British and American Sub-Cultural Theories

Following on from the Chicago School and Strain Theory, and also drawing on Edwin H. Sutherland's idea of differential association, American sub-cultural theorists focused on small cultural groups fragmenting away from the mainstream to form their own values and meanings about life. Some of these groups, especially from poorer areas where opportunities were scarce, might adopt criminal values and meanings. British sub-cultural theorists focused more heavily on the issue of class, where some criminal activities were seen as 'imaginary solutions' to the problem of belonging to a subordinate class.

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Symbolic Interactionism

Drawing on the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and George Herbert Mead, sub-cultural theory and conflict theory, this school of thought focused on the relationship between the powerful state, media and conservative ruling elite on the one hand, and the less powerful groups on the other. The powerful groups had the ability to become the 'significant other' in the less powerful groups' processes of generating meaning. The former could to some extent impose their meanings on the latter, and therefore they were able to 'label' minor delinquent youngsters as criminal. These youngsters would often take on board the label, indulge in crime more readily and become actors in the 'self-fulfilling prophecy' of the powerful groups. This led to 'deviancy amplification', thus making things worse.

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Types and definitions of crime

Both the positivist and classical schools take a consensus view of crime – that a crime is an act that violates the basic values and beliefs of society. Those values and beliefs are manifested as laws that society agrees upon. However, there are two types of laws:

Natural laws are rooted in core values shared by many cultures. Natural laws protect against harm to persons (e.g. murder, rape, assault) or property (theft, larceny, robbery).
Statutory laws are passed by legislatures and reflect current cultural mores. In the United States, such laws include those that prohibit marijuana use and gambling. When it comes to such laws, there is often great societal debate rather than consensus.

Therefore, definitions of crimes will vary from place to place, in accordance to the cultural mores.

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Educational programs

There are now a huge variety of undergraduate and postgraduate criminology degrees available around the world. The present popularity of such degrees may in part be due to criminal and police television dramas that capture students imaginations, but could also be because of growing awareness as to the continuing importance of issues relating to law, rules, compliance, politics, terrorism, security, forensic science, the media, deviance, and punishment.

Criminology is an multi-disciplinary field; criminologists may have degrees in criminology, law, sociology, psychology, social policy, political science, anthropology, or others. Populary, criminology may involve crime statistics, criminal psychology, forensic science, law enforcement, and investigative methods; academically, these areas are somewhat marginal to criminology.