What is Crime?
Four definitional perspectives
•Legalistic:
Human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government that has the power to make such laws.
Shortcomings of the Legalistic Perspective:
Powerful individuals may escape the label ‘criminal’ and they are able to influence the making laws. Somie avtivities are not crimes eve though they are immoral.
•Political:
crime is a political concept used to protect powerful people. Powerful people use their power to establish laws against undesirable forms of behavior .
•Sociological:
an antisocial act of such a nature that its repression is necessary to the preservation of the existing system of society. ‘violation of human rights’ and ‘agaist social norms and stability’.
•Psychological:
Crime-problem behavior, especially human activity that contravenes the criminal law and results in difficulties in living within a framework of generally acceptable social arrangements. Includes any harmful or potentially harmful behaviors.
Crime and Deviance
Deviant behavior–any activity that violates social norms
•Deviance and crime overlap
What Should be Criminal?
Perspectives:
1) Consensus: most member of society agree on what is right/wrong and work together toward the greater good. Most applicable to homogeneous societies.
2) Pluralist: society consists of many and diverse social groups. Ecah group has its own characteristic setf of values, beliefs anad interesets. Most applicable to diverse societies.
What Do Criminologists Do?
•Criminologist–studies crime, criminals and criminal behavior
•Criminalist–a specialist in the collection and examination of the physical evidence of crime
•Criminal Justice Professionals–do the day-to-day work of the criminal justice system.
What is Criminology?
Criminology: An interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their manifestations, causes, legal aspects, and...