How Do We Learn What We Know about Crime? Class 1

Administrative Any questions about course, assignments, etc.? If you haven’t read the syllabus and examined the home page yet, do that before the next class or don’t come back.

Review Difference Between Study of Criminology and Study of Criminal Justice Are Most People Law-Abiding

Today How Does the Public Learn About Crime? How Do Criminal Justice Professionals Learn about Crime? How Do Social Scientists Learn About Crime? Role of opinions Key Points to Understand from Today

I. How Does the Public Learn about Crime? From the education system From the mass media News Media Entertainment Media From the government

II. How Do Criminal Justice Professionals Learn About Crime? Learn relatively little from the academic study of crime Learn from stories told by older professionals Learn from personal experience

III. How Do Social Scientists Learn About Crime? They approach crime using the scientific method Examples of hypotheses they might investigate What kinds of data might they collect to test those hypotheses?

IV. Role of Opinions What are opinions? Opinions about crime When is it appropriate to have an opinion? Capital Punishment Longer Prison Sentences Legalization of Marijuana (or other drugs) We should have more police on patrol

IV. Role of Opinions When is it appropriate to have opinions? Use of illegally obtained evidence Gun control We should do more (or don’t need to do more) to make the criminal justice system treat all groups more equally We should do more to prevent crime

V. Key Points to Understand from Today Most of the public know very little about the reality of crime and about criminology Most criminal justice professionals (police, attorneys and judges) know very little about criminology Government and the media are not lying to us about crime Opinions are not appropriate when there is evidence to consider unless you have looked at the evidence

Next Time We begin discussion of Crime Stereotypes and Crime Myths