What is Criminology?

Lesson 1ADJ 201-63

What is CRIMINOLOGY?• Etymological Definition -Criminology (from Latin crīmen,"accusation";

and Greek -λογία, -logia)is the scientific approach to studying criminal behavior.

• The term was coined in 1885 by Raffaele Garofalo, an Italian law professor.

What is CRIMINOLOGY?Classic Definition – According to Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey: Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.

It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking of laws, and of reaction toward the breaking of laws.

Objectives of CriminologyThe development of a body of general and verified principles and of other types of knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and its control and prevention, and the treatment of the offenders.

Nature of CriminologyCriminology continues to bring together in a very amorphous manner people who do the following kinds of work: 1. Academicians (often sociologists) who teach students a subject

called criminology, including those criminologists who also do research and write on the subject;

2. Teachers who train other people for professional roles in crime control and criminal justice work;

Nature of Criminology (cont’d)1. Those who are involved in policy research within the criminal justice

system; and

2. Those who apply criminology that is all the people who are employed in criminal justice agencies ,ranging from policemen to lawyers to prison wardens to correctional workers.

3. Even this list of broad groupings does not exhaust the possibilities as criminology and criminal justice increasingly play prominent roles in the further development of society.

Criminology Distinguished from Other Related Disciplines Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Science. It involves two or more academic fields, namely: 1. Sociology 2. Criminal justice, 3. Political science, 4. Psychology, 5. Economics,6. Natural Sciences

Criminology Distinguished from Other Related Disciplines• Criminology explains the origin,

extent, and nature of crime in society.• Criminologists identify the

nature, extent and causes of crime.

Criminal Justice refers to the agencies of social control.Criminal justice scholars seek more effective methods of crime control and offender rehabilitation and deterrence.

Criminology Distinguished from Other Related Disciplines

Criminology and Criminal Justice Overlapping Area of Concern. Criminal justice experts cannot begin to design effective programs of crime prevention or rehabilitation without understanding the nature and cause of crime.

They require accurate criminal statistics and data to test the effectiveness of crime control and prevention programs.

Criminology Distinguished from Other Related DisciplinesCriminology: Studies Criminal behavior

Sociology and Deviance: Studies behavior that departs from

social norms

NOTE: Not all crimes are deviant or unusual acts and not all deviant acts are illegal.

Criminology Distinguished from Other Related Disciplines

Criminology and DevianceOverlapping Area of Concern. There is a thin line that distinguishes criminal act from deviant act. For example, when does sexually oriented material cross the line from merely suggestive to obscene and therefore illegal?

Is Criminology a Science?• There is at present a continuing argument whether criminology is a

science or not. Edwin H. Sutherland and Donald Cressy, both American Criminologists, argued that criminology is not a science but it has hopes of becoming a science.• However, George L. Wilker said that criminology cannot possibly

become a science due to lack of universal proposition of crime and scientific studies of criminal behavior is impossible.

So How Criminology become a Science?Criminology is a science in itself when applied to law enforcement and prevention of crimes under the following nature: 1. It is an applied science - in the study of the causes of crimes,

anthropology, zoology, psychology, sociology and other natural sciences may be applied. While in crime detection, chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, ballistics, photography, legal medicine, question documents examination may be utilized.

2. 2. It is a social science - in as much as crime is a social creation and that it exists in a society being a social phenomenon, its study must be considered a part of social science.

3. It is dynamic- criminology changes as social conditions changes. It is concomitant with the advancement of other sciences that have been applied to it. 4. It is nationalistic - the study of crimes must be in relation with existing criminal law within a territory or country. Finally, the question as to whether an act is a crime is dependent on the criminal law of a country.

The Scope of Criminology1. Study of the causes of crimes and development of

criminals.2. Study of the origin and development of criminal laws.3. Study of the different factors that enhances as:

a. criminal sociology- study the effects of social conditions on crime and criminals including the machinery of justice and the evolution of criminal law and punishment. b. criminal psychiatry- study of human mind in relation to criminality.

The Scope of Criminology (cont’d)c. criminal ecology- the study of criminality in relation to spatial distribution on a community. d. criminal demography- study of the relationship between criminology and population e. criminal epidemiology- study of the relationship between environment and criminality. f. Criminal physical anthropology- study of criminality in relation to physical constitution of humans. g. Victimology- study of the role of the victim in the commission crime.

The Scope of Criminology (Cont’d)4. Study of the various process and measures adopted by society violation of criminal laws:

a. the detection and investigation of crimes, b. the arrest and apprehension of criminals, c. the prosecution and conviction of the criminal in a judicial proceeding,d. the enforcement of laws, decrees and regulations,e. the administration of the police and other law enforcement agencies,f. maintenance of recreational facilities and other agencies and strategies

that prevent the development of crimes and criminal behavior.

Three Divisions of CriminologyCriminal Etiology- it is an attempt at scientific analysis of the causes of the crime. Sociology of Law- which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the conditions which penal/criminal laws has developed as a process of formal and social control. Penology- which is concerned with the control and prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders.

The CriminologistCriminologists are interested as how criminal laws are created, who has the power to create them, what are the purpose of such laws, how they are enforced and violated. Criminologists study the kinds of sanctions or incentives that can best protect the environment. The criminologists study the relationship between ideology and power in the making, enforcing, and breaking of laws.

Criminologist, defined:A Criminologist is a person who studies the causes of crimes, its treatment and prevention using scientific methods. • Criminologists use scientific principles--• Gather data• Create theories• Employ established method of social science inquiry• Experimental designs• Sophisticated data analyses

Is a Police Officer considered a Criminologist?•Generally speaking, a police officer is a • criminology practitioner not a criminologist, because

he is focused only in the enforcement of the law, which is only one aspect in the work of a criminologist.

What is a Criminology Practitioner?•A criminology practitioner is any person who is a

consumer of the knowledge and research of criminologists, applied in the prevention, control and treatment of a crime. • Examples: any member of any law enforcement

agency of the government, crime laboratory technicians, correctional officers, and other workers of the criminal justice system.