CRIMINOLOGY

Is an integrated approach to the study of the

nature, extent, cause, and control of criminalbehavior

Schools of Criminological Thought

• • Classical• Positivist• Sociological• Conflict• Developmental• Contemporary

Classical Criminology

• The theoretical perspective suggesting that:• People have free will to choose criminal orconventional behaviors• People choose to commit crime for reasons ofgreed or personal need• Crime can be controlled only by the fear ofcriminal sanctions

Positivist Criminology

• • Began during the 19th century• Uses the scientific method of the naturalsciences and suggests that human behavior is aproduct of social, biological, psychological, oreconomic forces

Sociological Criminology

• • Based on the work of Quetelet and Durkheim,this approach focuses on the relationshipbetween social factors and crime• Crime is not a function of personalcharacteristics but a social phenomenon thatcan be reduced by improving social andeconomic conditions

Conflict Theory

• • Advanced by Karl Marx, this approach suggeststhat human behavior is shaped by interpersonalconflict and those who maintain social poweruse it to further their own ends

Developmental Criminology

• • Began during the 20th century• An integration of sociological, psychological, andeconomic elements came together to form theperspective that criminality is a dynamic processinfluenced by social experiences as well asindividual characteristics

Contemporary Criminology

• • Various schools over the past 200 yearshave resulted in a number ofcontemporary theories:• Rational choice• Trait• Social structure• Social process• Critical• Developmental

What Criminologists Do

• • Potential areas of specialization:• Criminal statistics• Sociology of the law• Theory construction• Criminal behavior systems• Penology• Victimology

Deviance vs Crime

• • Criminologists view deviant behavior as anyaction that departs from the social norms ofsociety• Deviance thus includes a broad spectrum ofbehaviors ranging from the most socially harmfulto the relatively inoffensive• A deviant act becomes a crime when it isdeemed socially harmful or dangerous; it thenwill be specifically defined, prohibited, andpunished under the criminal law

Consensus View of Crime

• • The law defines crime• Agreement exists on outlawed behavior• Laws apply to all citizens equally

Conflict View of Crime

• • The law is a tool of the ruling class• Crime is a politically defined concept• “Real crimes,” such as racism, sexism, andclassism, are not outlawed• The law is used to control the underclass

Interactionist View of Crime

• • Moral entrepreneurs define crime• Acts become crimes because society definesthem that way• Criminal labels are life-transforming events

Crime is..

• . . . a violation of societal rules of behavior asinterpreted and expressed by the criminal law,which reflects public opinion, traditional values,and the viewpoint of people currently holdingsocial and political power. Individuals whoviolate these rules are subject to sanctions bystate authority, social stigma, and loss of status.

Historic Law• • The Code of Hammurabi was the first written

criminal code, developed in Babylonia about2000 BC• Mosaic Code included the laws of the ancientIsraelites found in the Old Testament of theJudeo-Christian Bible• Common Law was early English law developedby judges, which became the law of the land inEngland and eventually formed the basis ofcriminal law in the U.S.

Contemporary Criminal Law

• • Acts prohibited by criminal laws constitutebehaviors considered unacceptable andimpermissible by those in power; thus, criminallaws serve a number of social goals

Purposes of Criminal Law

Ethics

• • Major ethical issues in criminological researchinclude:• What to study• Whom to study• How to study