 For most of it’s history, almost all criminology was sociological criminology

 Criminology was concerned with issues of poverty, race and ethnicity  Also focused on the structure of communities and social relationships

 In the past few decades, criminology has moved away from a structural focus to emphasize individualistic explanations  Disciplines such as biology and psychology have also increased their engagement with the study of crime.

 Other disciplines often fail to address questions that sociologists view as central to the examination of crime:

 1. Why do rates of crime differ across locations and over time?

 2. why do rates of crime differ according to the key factors in inequality such as race, ethnicity, class and gender?

 3. How and why is the legal response to rime shaped by race, ethnicity, class and gender and other extra legal variables?

 A sociological perspective stresses that people are social beings more than individuals  This means that society profoundly shapes their behavior, attitudes and life chances.

 People within a given society growing up in different locations and within different social networks and under diverse socioeconomic circumstances tend to act and think differently

 Stressed that social forces influence our behavior and attitudes.  Studies of Suicide

 deviance affirms cultural values and norms  -condemning something as “deviant” clarifies moral boundaries  -constructing an act as deviant can unify social groups  -what is constructed as deviant may often be reconstructed as a social or commercial good

 Refers to how a society is organized in terms of social relationships and social interaction  Vertical and horizontal social structure

 Refers to the social and physical characteristics of communities and the networks of social relationships to which an individual belongs.

 Refers to social inequality or how a society ranks different groups of people.

 Mills emphasized that social structure lives at the root of “private troubles” *example of employment >for Mills the ability to understand the structural and historical basis for personal troubles is an example of the “sociological imagination”

 For much of European recorded history, people attributed crime and deviance to religious forces  Individuals committed crimes because God or the gods were punishing or testing them

 During the Middle Ages deviance was blamed on the devil

 In the 18 th century, what is known as the “classical school” of criminology stressed that criminals rationally chose to commit crimes after deciding that the potential rewards outweigh the risks. >scholars then suggested that legal punishment needed to be severe enough only to deter potential criminals from breaking the law

 From Cesare Beccaria’s essay, “On Crimes and Punishment” four general principles can be identified that typify the classical doctrine:  Equality - All should be treated equally under the law.

 Liberty - We have the right to be protected from the potential abuses of power by the state. The law cannot be applied retroactively and there can be no punishment without law.

 Utilitarianism – Because the major goal of the state should be the greatest happiness for the greatest number, justice should focus on utility rather than retaliation and retribution.

 In the 19 th century scholars began to investigate the causes of criminal behavior through scientific investigation

 Gathered and analyzed crime data in France  Found that crime rates remained fairly stable over time and were higher for young adults, men and the poor

 The interest in the social roots of crime was eclipsed by growing interest in the biological roots of crime