Criminology: The Evolution of Crime Essay

Chapter one of our textbook introduces us to the many aspects of crime and criminal behavior. The field of criminology is primarily the scientific study of the behavior of offenders as well as crime itself. Criminologists work in the area of criminology and have formal training in the study of criminal behavior and crime. Although laws attempt to criminalize actions that fall outside of the expected norm, not all deviant behavior is illegal. Conversely, not all criminal behavior is considered abnormal.

The book conveyed criminology defined as the study of crime and a social science that shares characteristics with sociology. People in the field of criminology are the information seekers who look for the reason behind why crimes are committed. They also look at not only how the crimes are committed but how they can be stopped. Criminology involves research and study. These studies should help create more effective responses to crime. The criminal justice study is focused on how the law is made and enforced. Criminal justice also goes over how those crimes are punished. It studies how the justice system works at all of the phases, from the moment a crime is reported, to police, the courts, and corrections. Criminal justice studies center on what happens after a crime is committed and how the legal system functions when it is in authorizing, enforcing laws that the crime may have broken, punishing offenders of that law, and responding to victims of the

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior (Siegel 4). Criminology is not just understanding criminal actions but also studying how to correct and prevent crime, overall. There are five major Criminological theories, (1) Classical Theory, (2) Positivist Theory, (3) Marxist / Conflict Theory, (4) Sociological Theory, and (5) Multifactor / Integrated Theory.

Criminology in the beginning was ruled as the classical school of thought and was looked at as crime being a product of rational choice that can be controlled with some form of deterrence method. Since then it has been expanded on with new developed ideas of why crime is committed, including theories that say that biological, psychological and sociological issues are the causes for crime.

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

Before one can truly begin to define examples of crime as normal learned behavior, one must be able to delineate what the phrase “crime as normal learned behavior” actually means as well as where it originated from. This phrase can date back to Sutherland’s novel, Criminology, which was first released in 1924 and was reedited through the multiple editions that were created in its succession. Overall, Sutherland solidifies a theory on crime that remains static from his third edition on, which discusses the idea that crime is a learned behavior through 9 main points. The points breakdown as follows:

This subfield is found most commonly in universities. The text explains two parts of the theoretical approach, general theory and integrated theory (Schmalleger, 2015). It seems that general theory fails to explain the many different areas of criminology, and for these reasons, the integrated theory may be a better option for understanding criminal behavior. An integrated theory brings together a wide array of information from different sources to help describe behavior (Schmalleger, 2015). In addition, theory must be able to be applied to the real world.

Criminal Justice Theorists attempted to find out a plausible scientific explanation to crime and criminal behavior of individuals. At the same time, criminology emerged under the impact of other sciences, such as psychology or sociology, for example. As a result, often criminology theories are often intertwined with psychological or sociological concepts and theories as well as concepts and theories from other sciences. The study of key works of criminology theorists can help to understand better criminology, crime, criminal behavior and causes of crime. In this regard, it is possible the distinct and persisting debate concerning causes of crimes and explanation of criminal behavior, which is based on nature-nurture debate, where internal factors, especially heredity, confront environmental, external factors, such as social environment, economic position or social class of individuals, which are viewed as determinant factors of criminal activities, but the development of polices related to such issues as the police violence proves a significant, if not to

Ever wondered what was going through a serial killer's mind when they commit a terrible act of hate? Or why a teenage, who had his whole life ahead of him, get shot while he was walking home from school? Or why a parent decided to take their young child's life? In a world full of crime and criminals, there has to be an equal balance. To help balance out the world between good and evil, law enforcement and their colleagues work with criminals on crimes they have committed. More specifically, criminologist study the crime and their causes and also the effects, and also the social effects.

As it pertains to the last ten years, Criminology and its relevance to the criminal justice system has been taught internationally to a number of students seeking employment within the criminal justice field. Criminology (as a whole) is a comprehensive study of criminal behavior, crime as a social matter, and criminal conduct. This is best explained in Stout’s book titled Applied Criminology when it is stated that “Different criminological theories emerge from different contexts, are shaped by different forces and, therefore, have very different implications if applied” (Stout, 2007, p.2). The most important takeaway from the study of how Applied Criminology is taught (and learned) is that it extends far beyond the mere application of criminological theories and teachings. It concerns itself with the evolution of its own field and sub-fields, as well as the entire ecosystem of related topics. In this way, Criminology takes on a sort of recursive nature in it that it teaches about its own field while being the field itself. Criminology seeks to provide theories that explain why individuals and groups of individuals commit crimes, in an attempt to effectively understand and deal with crime. There are overlapping questions concerning crime prevention, and the implementation of criminological theories focuses on providing explanations to criminal phenomenon. A theory is a set of concepts that are related or linked together by a series of explanations to a phenomenon. These

Criminology is a developing field of science that the justice system and its workers use to classify and explain crime and criminals. Within the field, there are people that are extending theories that have been around for some time. If they are not continuing work on an existing theory, they are developing a new one. Our class discussed five main theories. The theories we discussed in class are Rational Choice Theory, Trait Theory, Social Structure Theory, Social Process Theory, and Developmental Theory.

Garland & Sparks (2000) ‘Criminology& Social Theory & the Challenge of Our Times’. The British Journal of Criminology, 40(2), 189-204.

Midterm Essay By: Francisco Arellano For: Criminal Justice 401: Victimology Section 01 Professor Tolbert California State University, Long Beach October 20, 2014 Criminology is the scientific study of non-legal aspects of crime, and it was developed because of concerns about the use of what was perceived to be cruel and arbitrary means of justice.

My interest in studying criminology stems from a deep-rooted admiration for the law; the way various laws protect our civil liberties; the way police officers enforce it; the means to which the public can alter the law; but also conversely, the explanations of why people break the law. Is it sociological or psychological, and is there any way to prevent such a mentality to commit crime, or is it a biological factor which cannot be changed, and therefore inherent to the individual? That is what deeply fascinates me, the nature vs nurture debate. Studying this subject will help me fulfil a deeper knowledge and understanding of the causes of crime, how it affects society as a whole, and how various theories of crime pertains to an individual’s unique situation.

Criminology is a combination of both sociology and criminal justice. It attempts to understand and explain the anatomy of a crime, specifically its causes, costs, and consequences.