AN INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY
CRIMINOLOGY is the scientific approach to studying criminal behavior. In their classic definition, preeminent criminologists Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey state:
CRIMINOLOGY is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws. . .
The objective of criminology is the development of a body of general and verified principles and of other types of knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and treatment.
Sutherland and Cressey’s definition includes some of the most important areas of interest to criminologists, THEY ARE:
Crime is a social phenomenon.
Although some criminologists believe that individual traits and characteristics may play some role in the cause of criminals’ antisocial behavior, most believe that social factors are at the root cause of crime. Even the most disturbed people are influenced by their environment and their social interactions and personal relationships.
The processes of making laws.
Sutherland and Cressey’s definition recognizes the association between crime and criminal law and shows how the law defines the crime. How and why laws are created and why some are strengthened and others eliminated is of great interest to criminologists.
Breaking laws and reacting toward the breaking of laws.
At its core, the purpose of criminology is to understand both the onset of crime and the most effective methods for its elimination.
Why do people commit illegal acts, and what can be done to convince them-and others who are contemplating crime that it is in their best interests to turn their back on criminality?
These concepts are naturally bound together:
“IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EFFECTIVELY CONTROL CRIME UNLESS WE UNDERSTAND ITS CAUSE.”
Development of a body of general and verified principles.
Sutherland and Cressey recognize that criminology is a SOCIAL SCIENCE and criminologists must use the scientific method when conducting research.
Criminologists are required to employ valid and reliable experimental designs and sophisticated data analysis techniques or else lose standing in the academic community.
Criminology today is a unique and independent field of study. Nevertheless, it is often confused with other areas of study, like CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR. What are the similarities and differences in these allied fields of scientific inquiry?
CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Although the terms criminology and criminal justice may seem similar, and people often confuse the two or lump them together, there are major differences between these fields of study. Criminology explains the etiology (origin), extent, and nature of crime in society. Criminal justice refers to the study of the agencies of social control-police, courts, and corrections – that arrest, prosecute, convict, and treat criminal offenders.
(And in the Philippines nobody understood its difference. In fact, academically, it places criminology under criminal justice which is actually inappropriate, as long as this author (Wilber) is concerned (see CMOs for Criminology).
Since both fields are crime-related, they do overlap. Some criminologists devote their research to justice and social control. Their research focuses on how the agencies of justice operate, how they influence crime and criminals, and how justice policies shape crime rates and trends.
Conversely, criminal justice experts often want to design effective programs of crime prevention or rehabilitation and to do so must develop an understanding of the nature of crime and its causation. It is common, therefore, for criminal justice programs to feature courses on criminology and for criminology courses to evaluate the agencies of justice.
CRIMINOLOGY AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR
Criminology is also related to the study of deviant behaviors (delinquency) – those actions that depart from social norms, values, and beliefs. Included within the broad spectrum of deviant acts are behaviors ranging from violent crimes to bullying. The two fields of study are independent because significant distinctions can be made between crime and deviance: many crimes are not unusual or deviant; many deviant acts are neither illegal nor criminal. (see also the difference between criminology and deviance by Schamalleger/Pearson)
Similarly, many deviant acts are not criminal even though they may be both disturbing and shocking to the conscience. Suppose a passerby witnesses someone floundering in the ocean and makes no rescue attempt. Most people would condemn the onlooker’s coldhearted behavior as callous, immoral, and deviant. However, no legal action could be taken since a private citizen is not required by law to risk his or her own life to save another’s.
ln sum, criminologists are concerned with the concept of deviance (or delinquency) and its relationship to criminality, whereas those who study deviant behaviors often want to understand and/or identify the line that separates criminal from merely unusual behaviors. The shifting definition of deviant behavior is closely associated with our concepts of crime.
Regardless of their theoretical orientation, criminologists are devoted to the study of crime and criminal behavior. As two noted criminologists, Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti put it:
“A criminologist is one whose professional training, occupational role, and pecuniary reward are primarily concentrated on a scientific approach to, and study and analysis of, the phenomenon of crime and criminal behavior.
Criminology in action refers to the efforts of criminologists to use their insight, training, and experience to understand human behavior and predict its occurrence. Because criminologists have been trained in diverse fields, several sub-areas reflecting different orientations and perspectives are now contained within the broader area of criminology.
Criminologists may specialize in a sub-area in the same way that psychologists might specialize in a subfield of psychology, such as COGNITION, DEVELOPMENT, PERCEPTION, PERSONALITY, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, OR SEXUALITY.
What are some of the specific goals and areas of study on which criminologists focus their attention?
These sub-areas constitute the discipline of criminology:
Criminal Statistics and Research Methodology
Gathering valid crime data: Devising new research methods; measuring crime patterns and trends.
The Sociology of Law/Law and Society
Determining the origin of law: Measuring the forces that can change laws and society.
Theory Construction and Testing
Predicting individual behavior: Understanding the cause of crime rates and trends.
Criminal Behavior Systems and Crime Typologies
Determining the nature and cause of specific crime patterns: Studying violence, theft, organized, white-collar, and public order crimes.
Penology and Social Control
Studying the correction and control of criminal behavior: Using scientific methods to assess the effectiveness of crime control and offender treatment programs.
Victimology/Victims and Victimization
Studying the nature and cause of victimization: Aiding crime victims; understanding the nature and extent of victimization; developing theories of victimization risk.
The above literature gives us now a CLEAR IDEA of what is “CRIMINOLOGY SCIENTIFICALLY.
HOW DOES CRIMINOLOGY VIEW CRIMES?
Professional criminologists usually align themselves with one of several schools of thought or perspectives in their field. Each perspective maintains its own view of what constitutes criminal behavior and what causes people to engage in criminality. This diversity of thought is not unique to criminology; biologists, psychologists, sociologists, historians, economists, and natural scientists disagree among themselves about critical issues in their fields.
Considering the multidisciplinary nature of the field of criminology, fundamental issues such as the nature and definition of crime itself are causes for disagreement among criminologists. A criminologist’s choice of orientation or perspective depends, in part, on his or her definition of crime. This section discusses the three most common concepts of crime used by criminologists.
THE CONSENSUS VIEW OF CRIME
According to the consensus view, crimes are behaviors believed to be repugnant to all elements of society The substantive criminal law, which is the written code that defines crimes and their punishments, reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of society‘s mainstream.
The term consensus is used because it implies that there is general agreement among a majority of citizens on what behaviors should be outlawed by the criminal law and henceforth viewed as crimes. As the eminent criminologists Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey put it:
Criminal behavior is behavior in violation of the criminal law. . [I]t is not a crime unless it is prohibited by the criminal law [which] is defined conventionally as a body of specific rules regarding human conduct which has been promulgated by political authority, which apply uniformly to all members of the classes to which the rules refer, and which are enforced by punishment administered by the state.
THE CONFLICT VIEW OF CRIME
The conflict view depicts society as a collection of diverse groups of business owners, workers, professionals, students who are in constant and continuing conflict. Groups able to assert their political power use the law and the criminal justice system to advance their economic and social position. Criminal laws, therefore, are viewed as acts created to protect the haves from the have-nots.
Crime, according to this definition, is a political concept designed to protect the power and position of the upper classes at the expense of the poor. Even crimes prohibiting violent acts, such as armed robbery, rape, and murder, may have political undertones. Banning violent acts ensures domestic tranquility and guarantees that the anger of the poor and disenfranchised classes will not be directed at their wealthy capitalist exploiters.
THE INTERACTIONIST VIEW OF CRIME
The interactionist view of crime traces its antecedents to the symbolic interaction school of sociology, first popularized by pioneering sociologists George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, and W. I. Thomas. They created a school of thought that explains social behavior in terms of how people interact with each other via symbols.
How people communicate and interact with each other depends on how they interpret factors such as language, actions, and physical status. A person might interpret someone approaching with a raised fist as a threat or a victory sign depending on the context. Sometimes the meaning of symbols changes: having a visible tattoo once symbolized rebellion, now it‘s normative and stylish.
According to this perspective, there is no objective reality. People, institutions, and events are viewed subjectively and labeled either good or evil according to the interpretation of the evaluator. Take for instance how people react to the book and film Fifty Shades of Grey. Some readers/viewers consider it to be obscene, degrading, and distasteful while others view the same book and film as inoffensive, romantic, and provocative.
THE BEGINNING OF THE STUDY OF CRIMINALITY
The scientific study of crime and criminality is a relatively recent development. Although written criminal codes have existed for thousands of years, these were restricted to defining crime and setting punishment. What motivated people to violate the law remained a matter of conjecture.
During the middle age (1200 – 1600), superstition and fear of satanic possession dominated thinking. People who violated social norms or religious practices were believed to be witches or possessed by demons. The following are questions to ponder for you if you really decided to go into this practice.
- How do you consider such a theory (demonological and divine will) as an explanation for criminality?
- How do contemporary criminology and its major perspective add understanding to your endeavor of knowing fully the science of criminology?
- Do classical theory gives significance in understanding criminal behavior?
- How do you consider the routine activity and criminal pattern theory paves the way to understanding criminal tendency and behavior?
Deterrence and incapacitation paves way for “social and crime control”, the very basis for crafting (making) a law fit for a crime. Remember the classical thinking, “THE PUNISHMENT MUST FIT THE CRIME”.
ARE YOU NOW INTERESTED? YOU MAY PROCEED TO THE COURSE FORMALLY BY ENROLLING IN MOOC
We had just ended with our introductory part and partially touched on the initial theory that paves way for the scientific approach in the study of crimes and criminals. in our next MOOC, we will be discussing both biological and psychological approaches and explanations of crime causations.
To GUIDE you throughout the discussion about theories, you can download the reading materials below:
Causes of Crime (Short Readings)
Crime Theories (Short Summary)
Study Guide for Criminological Theory (40 Pages and more)
Criminology Theory (Books: useful for teaching and exploring criminology)
You can rewind this presentation if you are not much familiar with the ideas and concepts presented, OR IF NOT YOU CAN TAKE YOUR QUIZ BELOW to test your knowledge about the subject matter!
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