Presented By – Ms. Sonali Prajapati

Volunteer At Applied Forensic Research Sciences

What Is Criminology, Exactly?

Criminology is a branch of sociology that analyses human behaviour, interaction, and organisation in the past. However, studies and concepts from other fields of study, including as philosophy, anthropology, biology, and psychology, are incorporated. Criminologists look into a wide range of criminal matters. They are dedicated to learning not just about the causes of crime, but also about the systemic basis and effects of crime. The ultimate goal of criminology is to figure out what causes criminal behaviour and how to avoid it in an ethical and effective way. As a result of these goals, the discipline has developed numerous schools of thought, each of which investigates different aspects of misbehaviour and makes different conclusions about how to effectively tackle the difficulties.

Theoretical categories are used to categorise criminological hypotheses.

Classical, biological, psychological, and sociological theories are the four types of criminological theories. Individuals make a conscious choice, according to traditional explanations of criminal behaviour. According to biological theories, inherited biological features play a role. Psychological theories describe criminal behaviour as a result of factors such as upbringing and childhood experiences. Crime is primarily impacted by a number of community elements such as institutional oppression and informal social restrictions, according to sociological theories.

• What Is Criminology and How Does It Work? 

Criminologists, in essence, look at every aspects of violation. This involves the impacts of crime on individuals and their families, society as a whole, and even criminals. The following are some of the specific areas that criminology deals with: 

Types of crimes 

To better understand, prevent, and deter crime, criminologists do study and data analysis. They also create theories based on their findings to help with the translation of data into action. Criminologists can also analyse, design, and implement policies and procedures in the criminal justice system. 

Types of crime- 

Violent crime, white collar and corporate crime, organised crime, and "victimless" crime are some of the more common types of crime. Hate crime, environmental crime, technological crime, and political crime are examples of other forms not covered in this article. 

Crime data is normally separated into two major categories for the purposes of data collection and comparison: personal crimes and property crimes. Murder and robbery are examples of personal crimes, as are any other criminal acts involving direct contact between an offender and a victim, such as rape, serious assault, and battery. Property crimes are those in which personal property is the target of the crime and no force or threat of force is used against the person who is legally entitled to the property. Larceny-theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson are examples of property crimes. Property crimes are significantly more common than personal crimes, accounting for between 85 and 90 percent of all crimes recorded to law enforcement in the United States.To put it another way, every 23.1 seconds in the United States, a violent crime is committed, and every 3.1 seconds, a property crime is committed, according to official figures. Other more detailed divisions among criminal actions exist beyond the distinction between personal and property offences. Violent crime, white collar and corporate crime, organised crime, and “victimless” crime are some of the more common types of crime. Hate crime, environmental crime, technological crime, and political crime are examples of other forms not covered in this article. 

Crimes of Violence Murder, rape, robbery, and criminal mischief are the four major violent crimes documented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and most international policing agencies. Murder/negligent killing is defined as the intentional killing of another human being without justification or excuse. In the vast majority of situations, accomplices are just as responsible for the victim’s death as the person who causes the victim’s murder directly. Forcible rape is when a person engages in sexual activity against their consent. In the United States, the trend has been to prosecute rape on the basis of both the accused’s force and the victim’s considerable damage of power to evaluate or regulate activity. Judicial rape—sexual intercourse with a person (typically a female) under the legal age of consent—is also recognised in several nations. Robbery involves taking personal property from the possession of another against his or her will by the use or threat of force. The threat of violence is what distinguishes robbery from the lesser offense of theft. Aggravated assault refers to an unlawful attack by one person on another for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily injury. 

Crime Syndicate Gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking, and other related unlawful activities, such as money laundering and racketeering, are all examples of organised crime. The origins of organised crime in the United States may frequently be traced back to the 1920s and nationwide Prohibition (Brown et al. 2004). The controversial federal prohibition of alcoholic beverages imposed by the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution provided opportunities for criminal syndicates to flourish by illegally supplying liquor; later, they were able to expand their enterprises into vice and other illegal activities. Despite international efforts to combat organised crime, many sources estimate that international organised crime syndicates benefit by $1 trillion every year. 

Corporate and white-collar crime White-collar and corporate crime, rather than the activities often referred to as “street crimes”—that is, the personal and property offences that garner the majority of the public’s attention—are the sources of the biggest economic costs to society from crime. Former American Sociological Association president Edwin Sutherland developed the term “white-collar crime.” Sutherland mentioned people from the top socioeconomic levels whose criminal activity is treated less harshly than that of people from the lower socioeconomic classes in his 1939 presidential address (Sutherland 1940). White-collar crime, he explained, is "crimes done by a person of high respectability and high social position in the course of his occupation” (Rosoff et al. 2003, p. 2), as opposed to crime committed by someone with low respectability and social status. 

Crime with No Victims Victimless crime describes criminal activities in which the participants are unaware that anyone participating in the illegal transaction is a direct victim. Because no one directly involved is likely to commence enforcement by filing a police report, these offences are typically referred to as “complainantless.” Prostitution, pornography, illicit gambling, and drug use are examples of victimless crimes. Victimless crime is a difficult term because, while none of the participants regards themselves as victims, many claim that the forbidden acts hurt society as a whole. Illegal drug usage, for example, is said to raise healthcare expenses for everyone, disrupt families and communities, reduce worker productivity, and cause many of the other societal issues. In addition, a meta-analysis of North American studies on prostitution found that prostitutes are very likely to become victims of violence during the course of their work (Farley and Kelley 2000). 

REFRENCE- https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-criminology-974589 

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/crime-and-criminology