Criminology

Criminology comprises the body of knowledge dealing with the causes and consequences of crime as a social phenomenon. Criminology also involves study of criminal behavior, and the impact of laws on human behavior (and vice versa). Though both deal with crime, criminology differs from criminal justice in that criminal justice focuses on the components of the justice system including police, courts, and corrections.

Schools of thought

Over time, several schools of thought have developed, including:

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• Classical school
• Positivist school
• Chicago school
• Strain Theory
• British and American Sub-Cultural Theories
• Conflict theory and Marxism
• Frankfurt School
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Statistical school
• Environmental criminology
• Right Realism or Neo-Classicism
• Left Realism
• Feminism
• Postmodernism

Classical school

The classical school, derived from Jeremy Bentham's idea of utilitarianism tends toward a more conservative view of crime – its causes and approaches to crime problems. Of course, what is often seen as 'conservatism' in America is often seen 'classical liberalism' in Europe. It is based on some key assumptions:

Related Topics:
Jeremy Bentham's - Utilitarianism - Conservative

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• People have free will to choose between legitimate and criminal ways to obtain goods or services.
• Punishment (of enough severity) can deter people from crime, as the costs (penalties) outweigh benefits.
• Deterrence is based upon the utilitarian ontological notion of the human being as 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.

Positivist school

On the other hand, positivist criminologists take a more liberal stance. They presume that criminal behavior is caused by psychological and social factors (e.g. poverty, education) that put some people at more of a predisposition towards crime.

Related Topics:
Liberal - Poverty - Education

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• However, in Europe, positivists were regarded as either conservative or social democratic rather than 'liberal'. Because causal factors could be identified using scientific methods, it was possible to 'treat' them by means of intervention, just as a doctor would treat the causes of disease.
• The argument about the location of causes and the target of intervention was often a political matter. Socialists would often argue for economic and social causes, liberals for individual psychological causes, conservatives for moral causes, and the powerful medical profession for psychiatric causes.

Strain Theory

Based on the work of American sociologist Robert Merton, this theory suggests that mainstream culture, especially in America, is saturated with dreams of opportunity, freedom and prosperity. Most people buy into this dream and it becomes a powerful cultural and psychological motivation. However, if the social structure of opportunities is unequal and prevents the majority from realising the dream, some of them will turn to illegitimate means.

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British and American Sub-Culural Theories

Following on from the Chicago School and Strain Theory, and also drawing on Sutherland's idea of 'differential association', American sub-cultural theorists focused on small cultural groups fragmenting away from the mainstream to form their own values and meanings about life. Some of these groups, especially from poorer areas where opportunities were scarce, might adopt criminal values and meanings. British sub-cultural 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.

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Symbolic Interactionism

Drawing on the phenomenology of Husserl and Mead, sub-cultural theory and conflict theory, 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. This led to 'deviancy amplification', thus making things worse.

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