1. What makes someone a criminal?
Thinking like a social scientist about crime
Vikki Boliver
Sociology Lecturer
School of Applied Social Sciences

2. What is crime?

3. Could you be a criminal? Have you ever bought something
that you suspected may have
been stolen?
Have you ever taken anything from your school or workplace (e.g. stationery)?
Have you taken ‘souvenirs’ from a place you have visited (e.g. when on holiday or a school trip)?

4. Could you be a criminal? Have you ever found money in
the street and kept it?
Have you ever left a shop without
paying in full for your purchases?
Have you ever kept money if you received too much in change?

5. Is crime a social construct?
Can you think of something that was considered a crime in the past but isn’t anymore?
Can you think of something that is now considered to be a crime but wasn’t in the past?

6. Is crime a social construct?
Can you think of something that would be considered a crime under certain circumstances but not others?
Can you think of something that we as a society think is very bad but which isn’t considered a crime?

7. Are criminals made by society?
What are some of the characteristics
of the typical prison inmate?
Why is it that people with these
characteristics are more likely than
others to end up in prison?
What should society do with its criminals?

8. Is crime necessarily dysfunctional?
Is it possible to have a society
with no crime?
Could crime be beneficial
for society?

9. Study for a degree with us @ the School of Applied Social Sciences
BA Sociology
BA Criminology
BA Anthropology & Sociology
BA Combined Honours in Social Sciences
BA Education Studies (Sociology)