What is criminology

According to Siegel: Criminology is the scientific approach to the study of criminal behaviour

The term criminology was first used by 19th century French sociologist Toppinard

Walsh’s definition on criminology: Criminology is an interdisciplinary science that gathers and analyses data on various aspects of criminal, delinquent, and general antisocial behaviour

Criminology examines why those individuals committed crimes that got them ensnarled in the criminal justice system

the goal of criminology is to understand its subject matter and to determine how that understanding can benefit society

In pursuit of this understanding, criminologists ask the following questions:

• why do crime rates vary from time to time and from culture to culture?

• why are some individuals more prone to committing crimes than others

• why do crime rates vary across ages, genders and racial groups?

• why are some harmful acts criminalized and others not

• why do some people become victims while others do not

• what can we do to prevent crime

Criminologists use the scientific method to try to answer their questions

The scientific method is a tool for separating truth from error by demanding evidence for any conclusions criminologists arrive at

Evidence is obtained by formulating hypotheses derived from theory and that are rigorously tested with data in such a way that others following the same method can replicate the study

By following the scientific method, criminologists hope to build a body of verified knowledge that may help police and correctional officials in their battle against crime

Criminology is, therefore an applied discipline within the human sciences

Its field of study encompasses crime, criminals, victims, punishment and the prevention and control of crime

Criminology is the only discipline that studies crime in its relativity, meaning that crime context is taken into consideration

all aspects of the crime phenomenon - the offender, the victim, the criminal justice process and the relevant role players - are the core matters that criminology explores in their relativity

Criminologists study issues such as:

• the causes of crime

• society’s reaction to crime when people break the law

• differences in the nature and scope of crime between countries and communities in the same area

• why some people commit crimes while others in similar circumstances do not

Criminologists also try to explain the judical process

Criminologists study the victims of crime and try to determine why people become victims, as well as examining the profile of a crime victim and what makes people prone to victimisation

Edwin H. Sutherland is celebrated as the father of American criminology

The three aspects of Edwin H. Sutherland

1. the making of laws against crime

2. breaking laws

3. reacting to law breaking

Bezuidenhout and Little identify the following fields of specialization in criminology:

• Criminal law: a branch of law that covers the definition of crime and criminal behaviour, as well as the rules and regulations regarding the control and prevention of crime

• Crime theories: the reason and explanation provided by criminologists and social scientists for the causes and the occurrence of criminal, deviant or abnormal behaviour

• Victimology: the study of crime victims or victimms of deviannt behaviour, as well as their experiences and perceptions

• Criminal and deviannt behaviour systems: risk assessment strategies that determine the nature and extent of deviant or criminal behaviour pattern

• Criminal justice: the study of agencies of social control that handle offenders. This includes the study of courts of law, the police and the prisons as institutions that are responsible for controlling, regulating and preventing criminal or deviant behaviour