Criminology

1. Larry J. Siegel
www.cengage.com/cj/siegel
Chapter One
Crime and Criminology
Dennis Souther • Stanly Community College, Albemarle, NC

2. Crime and Criminology
• 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.

3. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement
• Analysis
• Measurement
• Identification
• Testing

4. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal
Studies
• Investigate history of legal though
• Assess effects of proposed legal change

5. Crime and Criminology
• Critical thinking
– 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?

6. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Psychological
– Personality, development, social learning,
cognition

7. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Biological
– Biochemical, genetic, neurological

8. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Sociological
– Neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group
interaction

9. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections
• Penology: the correction and sentencing of known
criminal offenders.
– Rehabilitation
– Social control

10. Crime and Criminology
• What Criminologists Do: The
Criminological Enterprise
– Victimology
• Victim surveys
• Victimization risk
• Victim culpability
• Services for crime victims

11. Crime and Criminology
• A Brief History of Criminology
– Classical Criminology
• Utilitarianism
• Free will to choose legal or illegal behavior
• Crime is attractive
• Crime may be controlled through the fear of
punishment
• Punishment works best when perceived to be:
– Severe
– Certain
– Swift

12. Crime and Criminology
• A Brief History of Criminology
– Positivist Criminology
• Scientific method
• Logic
• Empirical verification
• Value-free

13. Crime and Criminology
• Sociological Criminology
– Quetelet and Durkheim
– Relationship between social factors and crime
– Crime is a social phenomenon that can be reduced by
improving social and economic conditions
– The Chicago School

14. Crime and Criminology
• Conflict Theory
– Karl Marx
• Burgeoisie
• Proletariat
– Critical Criminology

15. Crime and Criminology
• Developmental Criminology
– Gluecks’
• Complex View
– Integration of sociological, psychological, and
economic elements
• Delinquency

16. Crime and Criminology
• Contemporary Criminology
– Rational Choice Theory
– Trait Theory
– Social Structure Theory
– Social Process Theory
– Critical Theory
– Developmental Theory

17. Crime and Criminology
• Deviant or Criminal? How
Criminologists Define Crime
– 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.

18. Crime and Criminology
• The Concept of Crime
– Consensus View of Crime
– Conflict View of Crime
– Interactionist View of Crime

19. Crime and Criminology
• 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.

20. Crime and Criminology
• Crime and the Criminal Law
– Code of Hammurabi
– Mosaic Code
– Common Law
• Precedent
• Mala in se
• Mala prohibitum
– Statutory crimes

21. Crime and Criminology
• Contemporary Criminal Law
– Social goals
• Enforcing social control
• Discouraging revenge
• Expressing public opinion and morality
• Deterring criminal behavior
• Punishing wrongdoing
• Creating equity
• Maintaining social order

22. Crime and Criminology
• Crime and the Criminal Law
– Criminal Law
• The written code that defines crimes and their
punishments
• Reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of
society’s mainstream

23. Crime and Criminology
• The Evolution of Criminal Law
– Social and Economic Conditions
• Stalking
• Gay marriage
– Future Direction of Criminal Law

24. Crime and Criminology
• Contemporary Criminal Law
– Felony
– Misdemeanor

25. Crime and Criminology
• Ethical Issues in Criminology
– What to Study
– Whom to Study
– How to Study