1. Chapter One Crime and Criminology

2. 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.
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

3. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement
Create valid and reliable measures of criminal behavior through:
Analysis
Measurement
Identification
Testing
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

4. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal Studies
Investigate the role that social forces play in shaping criminal law
Investigate the role of criminal law in shaping society
Investigate history of legal thought
Assess effects of proposed legal change
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

5. Policies and Issues in 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?
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

6. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Developing Theories of Crime Causation
Psychological
Biological
Sociological
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

7. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Understanding and Describing Criminal Behavior
Victim-precipitated homicide
White collar crime
Mental illness
Terrorist characteristics
History of abuse
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

8. Class Discussion/Activity
Criminologists devote themselves to understanding the causes of criminal behavior. For instance, the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooter killed 26 children and teachers.
Can knowing that such crimes are an urban phenomenon help us understand why they occur and how they can be prevented?

9. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections
Penology: the correction and sentencing of known criminal offenders.
Rehabilitation
Social control
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

10. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Victimology
Victim surveys
Victimization risk
Victim culpability
Services for crime victims
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

11. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

12. A Brief History of Criminology
Classical Criminology
Theoretical perspective suggesting that people choose to commit crime
Crime can be controlled if potential criminals fear punishment
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

13. A Brief History of Criminology
Positivist Criminology
Application of the Scientific method
Objective
Universal
Culture-free
Empirical verification
Value-free
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

14. A Brief History of Criminology
Sociological Criminology
Anomie
The Chicago School
Individual’s socialization
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

15. A Brief History of Criminology
Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
Bourgeoisie
Proletariat
Critical Criminology
Crime as a product of capitalism
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

16. A Brief History of Criminology
Developmental Criminology
Gluecks
Complex View
Integration of sociological, psychological, and economic elements
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance.

17. A Brief History of Criminology
Contemporary Criminology
Rational Choice Theory
Trait Theory
Social Structure Theory
Social Process Theory
Critical Theory
Developmental Theory
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

18. A Brief History of Criminology
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

19. 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.
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

20. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
The Concept of Crime
Consensus View of Crime
Conflict View of Crime
Interactionist View of Crime
L03 – Discuss the three different views of the definition of crime.

21. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

22. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
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.
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

23. Class Discussion/Activity
What are 3 behaviors that are deviant but not criminal and 3 behaviors that are criminal but not deviant?
How may behavior you consider non-deviant could be seen as deviant by someone else?

24. Criminology and the Criminal Law
Code of Hammurabi
Mosaic Code
Common Law
precedent
mala in se
mala prohibitum
Contemporary Criminal Law
felony
misdemeanor
The Evolution of Criminal Law
L04 – Discuss the different purposes of the criminal law.

25. Criminology and Criminal Justice
The Criminal Justice System
The Process of Justice
Structured and legal process from initial contact, through arrest, trial, and post-release
L05 – Describe the criminal justice process.

26. Ethical Issues in Criminology
What to Study
Whom to Study
How to Study
L06 – Identify the ethical issues in criminology.