81-220-1 - Chapter 1

Michelle PalaroCriminology 81-220-1

Fall 2014© Copyright Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 1 - Crime and Criminology

© Copyright Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

• The Field of Criminology– An academic discipline that uses the

scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior

– Interdisciplinary science involving two or more academic fields

• Criminal Justice– System made up of the agencies of social

control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders


• Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement – Create valid and reliable measures of

criminal behavior through:• Analysis • Measurement• Identification• Testing

What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise


• Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal Studies– Investigate the role that social forces

play in shaping criminal law– Investigate the role of criminal law in

shaping society– Investigate history of legal thought– Assess effects of proposed legal change



• Considering the findings of Zgoba and Bachar, would you advocate abandoning sex offender registration laws because they are ineffective? Or might there be other reasons to keep them active?

• What other laws do you think should be the topic of careful scientific inquiry to see whether they actually work as advertised?

Policies and Issues in Criminology Critical Thinking


What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise• Developing Theories of Crime

Causation–Psychological–Biological –Sociological


• Understanding and Describing Criminal Behavior– Victim-precipitated homicide– White collar crime– Mental illness– Terrorist characteristics– History of abuse



Class Discussion/ActivityCriminologists devote themselves to understanding the causes of criminal behavior. For instance, the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooter killed 26 children and teachers.

Can knowing that such crimes are an urban phenomenon help us understand why they occur and how they can be prevented?


• Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections– Penology: the correction and sentencing

of known criminal offenders• Rehabilitation• Social control



• Victimology – Victim surveys– Victimization risk– Victim culpability– Services for crime victims





• Classical Criminology– Theoretical perspective suggesting

that people choose to commit crime– Crime can be controlled if potential

criminals fear punishment

A Brief History of Criminology


• Video on Lombroso


• Positivist Criminology– Application of the Scientific method

• Objective• Universal• Culture-free

– Empirical verification• Value-free



• Sociological Criminology–Anomie–The Chicago School– Individual’s socialization



• Conflict Theory–Karl Marx

• Bourgeoisie• Proletariat

• Critical Criminology–Crime as a product of capitalism



• Developmental Criminology–Gluecks–Complex View

• Integration of sociological, psychological, and economic elements



• Contemporary Criminology–Rational Choice Theory –Trait Theory –Social Structure Theory –Social Process Theory –Critical Theory –Developmental Theory





• Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors, ranging from the most socially harmful, such as rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive, such as joining a religious cult or cross-dressing

• A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous; it is then specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law

Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime


• The Concept of Crime– Consensus View of Crime– Conflict View of Crime– Interactionist View of Crime





• A Definition of Crime– “Crime” is a violation of societal rules of

behavior as interpreted and expressed by the criminal law, which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of people currently holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status



Class Discussion/Activity • What are 3 behaviors that are deviant but

not criminal and 3 behaviors that are criminal but not deviant?

• How may behavior you consider non-deviant could be seen as deviant by someone else?


• Code of Hammurabi• Mosaic Code• Common Law

– Precedent– mala in se– mala prohibitum

• Contemporary Criminal Law– Felony– Misdemeanor

• The Evolution of Criminal Law

Criminology and the Criminal Law


• The Criminal Justice System• The Process of Justice

–Structured and legal process from initial contact, through arrest, trial, and post-release

Criminology and Criminal Justice


• What to Study?

• Whom to Study?

• How to Study?

Ethical Issues in Criminology

Education

81-220-1 - Chapter 1