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Criminology is the Scientific study of Crime as an individual and social phenomenon. Criminological research areas include the incidence and forms of crime as well as its causes and consequences. They also include social and governmental regulations and reactions to crime. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the Behavioural Science s, drawing especially on the research of Sociologists and Psychologists , as well as on writings in Law . In 1885, Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo coined the term "criminology" (in Italian, ''criminologia''). The French anthropologist Paul Topinard used it for the first time in French (''criminologie'') around the same time.1 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT In the mid-18th century, criminology arose as Social Philosophers gave thought to crime and concepts of law. Over time, several schools of thought have developed. Classical school The Classical School , which developed in the mid 18th century, was based on Utilitarian philosophy. Cesare Beccaria , author of '' On Crimes And Punishments '' (1763-64), Jeremy Bentham , inventor of the '' Panopticon '', and other classical school philosophers argued that (1) people have free will to choose how to act. (2) Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being a 'hedonist' who seeks pleasure and avoids pain, and a 'rational calculator' weighing up the costs and benefits of the consequences of each action. Thus, it ignores the possibility of irrationality and unconscious drives as motivational factors (3) Punishment (of sufficient severity) can deter people from crime, as the costs (penalties) outweigh benefits, and that severity of punishment should be proportionate to the crime.2 (4) The more swift and certain the punishment, the more effective it is in deterring criminal behavior. The Classical school of thought came about at a time when major reform in Penology occurred, with Prison s developed as a form of punishment. Also, this time period saw many Legal reforms, the French Revolution , and the development of the Legal System in the United States . Positivist school The Positivist School presumes that criminal behaviour is caused by internal and external factors outside of the individual's control. The Scientific Method was introduced and applied to study human behavior. Positivism can be broken up into three segments which include biological, psychological and social positivism. Cesare Lombroso , an Italian prison doctor working in the late 19th century and sometimes regarded as the "father" of criminology, was one of the largest contributors to biological positivism.3 Lombroso took a scientific approach, insisting on empirical evidence, for studying crime.4 Considered as the founder of Criminal Anthropology , he suggested that physiological traits such as the measurements of one's cheek bones or hairline, or a cleft palate, considered to be throwbacks to Neanderthal man, were indicative of " Atavistic " criminal tendencies. This approach, influenced by the earlier theory of Phrenology and by Charles Darwin and his Theory Of Evolution , has been superseded, but more modern research examines genetic characteristics and the chemistry of Nutrition to determine whether there is an effect on violent behaviour (see Natural Justice ). Enrico Ferri , a student of Lombroso, believed that social as well as biological factors played a role, and held the view that criminals should not be held responsible for the factors causing their criminality were beyond their control. Lombroso's biological theories have since been rejected by criminologists, with Control Group s not used in his studies.5 Hans Eysenck (1964, 1977), a British psychologist, claimed that psychological factors such as Extraversion and Neuroticism made a person more likely to commit criminal acts. He also includes a Psychoticism dimension that includes traits similar to the Psychopathic profile, developed by Hervey M. Cleckley and later Robert Hare . He also based his model on early parental Socialization of the child; his approach bridges the gap between biological explanations and environmental or social learning based approaches, (see e.g. social psychologists B. F. Skinner (1938), Albert Bandura (1973), and the topic of " Nature Vs. Nurture ".) Sociological positivism postulates that societal factors such as Poverty , membership of subcultures, or low levels of Education can predispose people to crime. Adolphe Quetelet made use of Data and Statistical analysis to gain insight into relationship between Crime and Sociological factors. He found that age, Gender , Poverty , Education , and Alcohol consumption were important factors related to crime.6 Rawson W. Rawson utilized Crime Statistics to suggest a link between Population Density and Crime Rate s, with crowded cities creating an environment conducive for crime.7 Joseph Fletcher and John Glyde also presented papers to the Statistical Society Of London on their studies of crime and its distribution.8 Henry Mayhew used Empirical methods and an Ethnographic approach to address social questions and Poverty , and presented his studies in '' London Labour And The London Poor ''.9 Emile Durkheim viewed crime as an inevitable aspect of Society , with uneven distribution of Wealth and other differences among people. Chicago School The Chicago School arose in the early twentieth century, through the work of Robert Ezra Park , Ernest Burgess , and other Urban Sociologists at University Of Chicago . In the 1920s, Park and Burgess identified five Concentric Zones that often exist as cities grow, including the "zone in transition" which was identified as most volatile and subject to disorder. In the 1940s, Henry McKay and Clifford R. Shaw focused on Juvenile Delinquents , finding that they were concentrated in the zone of transition. Chicago School sociologists adopted a Social Ecology approach to studying cities, and postulated that urban neighborhoods with high levels of Poverty often experience breakdown in the Social Structure and institutions such as Family and School s. This results in Social Disorganization , which reduces the ability of these institutions to control Behavior and creates an environment ripe for Deviant Behavior . Other researchers suggested an added social-psychological link. Edwin Sutherland suggested that people learn criminal behavior from older, more experienced criminals that they may associate with. THEORIES OF CRIME Theoretical perspectives used in criminology include Psychoanalysis , Functionalism , Interactionism , Marxism , Econometrics , Systems Theory , Postmodernism , etc. Social structure theories Social disorganization (neighborhoods) Social Disorganization theory is based on the work of Henry McKay and Clifford R. Shaw of the Chicago School.10 Social disorganization theory postulates that neighborhoods plagued with poverty and economic deprivation tend to experience high rates of Population turnover.11 These neighborhoods also tend to have high population Heterogeneity . With high turnover, informal Social Structure often fails to develop, which in turn makes it difficult to maintain Social Order in a community. Social ecology Since the 1970s, social ecology studies have built on the social disorganization theories. Many studies have found that crime rates are associated with poverty, disorder, high numbers of abandoned buildings, and other signs of community deterioration.12 As Working and Middle Class people leave deteriorating neighborhoods, the most disadvantaged portions of the population may remain. William Julius Wilson suggested a poverty "concentration effect", which may cause neighborhoods to be isolated from the mainstream of society and become prone to Violence . Strain theory (social class) rs).13 Subcultural theory See Also: subcultural theory Following on from the Chicago School and Strain Theory, and also drawing on Edwin H. Sutherland 's idea of Differential Association , subcultural theorists focused on small cultural groups fragmenting away from the mainstream to form their own values and meanings about life. Albert Cohen tied anomie theory with Freud 's Reaction Formation idea, suggesting that delinquency among lower class youths is a reaction against the Social Norm s of the middle class.14 Some youth, especially from poorer areas where opportunities are scarce, might adopt social norms specific to those places which may include "toughness" and disrespect for authority. Criminal acts may result when youths conform to norms of the deviant subculture.15 Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin suggested that deliquency can result from differential opportunity for lower class youth.16 Such youths may be tempted to take up criminal activities, choosing an illegitimate path that provides them more lucrative economic benefits than conventional, over legal options such as Minimum Wage -paying jobs available to them. British subcultural theorists focused more heavily on the issue of class, where some criminal activities were seen as 'imaginary solutions' to the problem of belonging to a subordinate class. A further study by the Chicago school looked at gangs and the influence of the interaction of gang leaders under the observation of adults. Individual theories Trait theories Biosocial and Psychological trait theories have emerged in modern criminology, as scientific knowledge of Genetics , Biochemistry , and Neurology has grown. Biosocial theorists believe in Equipotentiality and that genetics significantly influence Human Behavior . They believe that biological factors, together with environmental and social factors, influence a person's propensity for crime. Research into biosocial theories has looked at Vitamin definciency and Antisocial Behavior , the link between high consumption of Sugar and Aggressive behavior, and possible influence of Hormones . Environmental Contamination , particularly Lead levels, and links to aggressive behavior is another research focus of biosocial theorists. Control theories Another approach is made by the social bond or s, Parent s, and others, can have a countering effect on one's low self-control. For families of low socio-economic status, a factor that distinguishes families with delinquent children from those who are not delinquent is the control exerted by parents or Chaperon age.19 Symbolic interactionism Symbolic Interactionism draws on the Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and George Herbert Mead , as well as Subcultural Theory and Conflict Theory .20 This school of thought focused on the relationship between the powerful state, media and conservative ruling elite on the one hand, and the less powerful groups on the other. The powerful groups had the ability to become the 'significant other' in the less powerful groups' processes of generating meaning. The former could to some extent impose their meanings on the latter, and therefore they were able to 'label' minor delinquent youngsters as criminal. These youngsters would often take on board the label, indulge in crime more readily and become actors in the 'self-fulfilling prophecy' of the powerful groups. Later developments in this set of theories were by Howard Becker and Edwin Lemert , in the mid 20th century.21 Stanley Cohen who developed the concept of " Moral Panic " (describing societal reaction to spectacular, alarming social phenomena such as post-World War Two youth cultures (e.g. the '' Mods And Rockers '' in the UK in 1964), AIDS and Football Hooliganism ). Deterrence Rational choice theory See Also: Rational choice theory (criminology) , and advocated against the Death Penalty , as well as Torture and inhumane treatments, as he did not consider themselves rational deterrents. This philosophy was replaced by the Positivist and Chicago Schools, and not revived until the 1970s with the writings of James Q. Wilson , Gary Becker 's 1965 article titled "Crime and Punishment Gary Becker , "Crime and Punishment", in '' Journal Of Political Economy '', vol. 76 (2), March-April 1968, p.196-217 " and George Stigler 's 1970 article "The Optimum Enforcement of Laws George Stigler , "The Optimum Enforcement of Laws", in '' Journal Of Political Economy '', vol.78 (3), May-June 1970, p.526-536 ." Rational choice theory argues that criminals, like other people, weigh costs/risks and benefits when deciding whether or not to commit crime and think in Economic terms.22 They will also try to minimize risks of crime by considering the time, place, and other situational factors. Gary Becker, for example, acknowledged that many people operate under a high moral and ethical constraint, but considered that criminals rationally see that the benefits of their crime outweigh the cost such as the probability of apprehension, conviction, punishment, as well as their current set of opportunities. From the public policy perspective, since the cost of increasing the fine is marginal to that of the cost of increasing surveillance, one can conclude that the best policy is to maximize the fine and minimize surveillance. With this perspective, Crime Prevention or reduction measures can be devised that increase effort required to commit the crime, such as target hardening.23 Rational choice theories also suggest that increasing risk of offending and likelihood of being caught, through added Surveillance , Police or Security Guard presence, added street Lighting , and other measures, are effective in reducing crime. One of the main difference between this theory and Jeremy Bentham 's rational choice theory, which had been abandoned in criminology, is that if Bentham considered it possible to completely annihilate crime (through the Panopticon ), Becker's theory acknowledged that a society could not eradicate crime beneath a certain level. For example, if 25% of a supermarket's products were stolen, it would be very easy to reduce this rate to 15%, quite easy to reduce it until 5%, difficult to reduce it under 3% and nearly impossible to reduce it to zero (a feat which would cost the supermarket, in surveillance, etc., that it would outweight the benefices). Such rational choice theories, linked to Neoliberalism , have been at the basics of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design . Routine activity theory Routine Activity Theory , developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence Cohen, drew upon control theories and explained crime in terms of crime opportunities that occur in everyday life.24 A crime opportunity requires that elements converge in time and Place including (1) a motivated offender (2) suitable target or victim (3) lack of a capable Guardian .25 A guardian at a place, such as a street, could include security guards or even ordinary Pedestrians who would witness the criminal act and possibly intervene or report it to police. Routine activity theory was expanded by John Eck, who added a fourth element of "place manager" such as rental property managers who can take Nuisance abatement measures.26 TYPES AND DEFINITIONS OF CRIME Both the Positivist and Classical Schools take a consensus view of crime — that a crime is an act that violates the basic values and beliefs of society. Those values and beliefs are manifested as laws that society agrees upon. However, there are two types of laws:
Therefore, definitions of crimes will vary from place to place, in accordance to the cultural Norms and mores, but may be broadly classified as Blue-collar Crime , Corporate Crime , Organized Crime , Political Crime , Public Order Crime , State Crime , State-corporate Crime , and White-collar Crime . SUBTOPICS Areas of study in criminology include:
Comparative criminology is the study of the social phenomenon of crime across cultures, to identify differences and similarities in crime patterns.27 SEE ALSO REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY
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