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Definition: Criminology from The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

The interdisciplinary and scientific approach to the study of criminal behavior. It includes disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics, biology, and physiology. The word criminologia was coined by Raffaele Garofalo, an Italian law professor, in 1885. Criminologists focus their studies on criminal behavior, crime patterns, the consequences of punishment, the effectiveness of punishment, rehabilitation, and the etiology and prevalence of crime. Criminology includes multifaceted theories such as biological positivism (criminal behavior is inherited), sociobiological positivism (criminal behavior is a combination of biology and environmental factors), psychological determinism (criminal behavior is due to personality disorders, mental illness, etc.), or sociological determinism (criminal behavior is due to environmental factors).

CRIMINOLOGY

From The Encyclopedia of Police Science
The study of crime and criminals is the province of the field of criminology. As the late Edwin Sutherland wrote in his classic work Principles of Criminology (1939, 1): “Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws.” Although Sutherland's definition of criminology is commonly accepted and widely quoted, it is not quite accurate because it declares that the study of crime is solely focused on social factors. In fact, the study of crime by criminologists has encompassed several fields of knowledge that are not primarily social in nature. It is also necessary to add that criminology has been generally defined as the scientific study of crime and criminals. Thus, not all those who comment on crime and criminals (such as forensic experts, lawyers, judges, and those who work in the criminal justice system) are criminologists. This…
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Full text Article CRIMINOLOGY

From Dictionary of Probation and Offender Management
The study of crime, criminals and criminal justice systems, informed by theories and perspectives from sociology, psychology and social policy. The origins of criminology are often traced back to the Italian philosopher and reformer, Cesare Beccaria, whose 1764 book, On Crimes and Punishments , was…
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Full text Article CRIMINOLOGY

From Dictionary of Forensic Psychology
Criminology is the study of crime and criminals. In its broadest sense, criminology is the study of crime and the criminal (Coleman and Norris 2000). However, there is much debate in the field of criminology regarding the precise nature of the definition. This is in part due to the potentially…
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Full text Article Criminology

From World of Sociology, Gale
Criminology, an emphasis of sociology studying crime and delinquency as phenomena of the social world, has three foci: lawmaking, lawbreaking, and reactions regarding the breaking of laws. The study of lawmaking examines whether the basis of legal definitions is one of consensus or conflict. The…
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Full text Article criminology

From Collins Dictionary of Sociology
A branch of study which has traditionally focused on a number of aspects of the nature and causes of CRIME and the criminal element in society. It is debatable whether this area of study may be called a discipline in its own right as it has tended rather to focus only on one problem andits…
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Full text Article criminology

From The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology
This branch of social science is the study of criminal behaviour; that is, infractions of the law, especially criminal law. It involves: the study of the causes, nature and distribution of crime in society; the study of the physical, psychological and social characteristics of criminals; the study…
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Full text Article Criminology

From World of Criminal Justice, Gale
Criminology is the study of the nature of, causes of and the means of dealing with crime and criminals. Criminology is a social science with strong ties to sociology and psychology. As a discipline, it attracts lawyers, scholars, statisticians, and persons working in the field of criminal justice. …
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Full text Article Criminology

From The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
This entry is on the topic of criminology, providing a broad overview of schools of thought within the discipline. This entry begins with a description of criminology, followed by a historical review of the great traditions within the field. Finally, a discussion of the most important work and key…
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Full text Article criminology

From Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
The study of crime has a longstanding and rich history. In its earliest days, criminology was thought to encompass any study that pertained to the problem of crime. This simple description was born out of a fundamental desire to know more about deviant behavior, those actions that violated social…
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Full text Article criminology

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
the study of crime, society's response to it, and its prevention, including examination of the environmental, hereditary, or psychological causes of crime, modes of criminal investigation and conviction, and the efficacy of punishment or correction (see prison ) as compared with forms of treatment…
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Full text Article Peacemaking Criminology

From The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
This entry introduces the field of peacemaking criminology and its theoretical foundations. Based on a hybrid of origins, including traditional and modern philosophies of human social interaction, conflict resolution, and perspectives on the etiology and resolution of injustice and human suffering, …
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