CC100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Halfway House, Victimology, Social Forces
Chapter 2
Criminology and Society
Six Subareas of Criminology:
1) Criminal Statistics -
- Collection, collation, and analysis of statistical info. Examine trends
- The Centre for Criminal Justice Statistics (Ottawa)
- Surveys explore The Dark Figure of Crime (Unreported criminality and victimization)
2) The Sociology of Crime -
- The role of social forces in shaping the criminal law (vice versa)
- heinous crimes
3) The Etiology of Crime -
- Criminal behaviour and how it’s caused. Why do people commit crimes? (central Q)
- Focus on motivations and decision making processes.
- few scientific studies can accurately prove why people become criminals.
- struggle to identify factors (biology, early family life, psychological states, economic,
political and social factors)
4) Criminal Behavioural Systems -
- Focus on research and description of specific criminal types
- construction of criminal typologies
- provide rich and detailed data (can’t get from stats)
5) Penology -
- Study of prisons and corrective apparatus of CJS (halfway houses, sentencing sanctions,
alternative measures, prisons)
- Conservative criminologists - use of law as force to control society. Harsh punishment
and judicial sanctions.
- other criminologists - CJS should serve treatment and rehabilitation. View criminals as
influenced by social, psychological, political and economical stresses beyond their
control.
6) Victimology -
- Study of victims of crime (emerged in late 1970’s, social changes - feminism)
- knowledge of crime is incomplete unless impact on victims is included
Document Summary
Six subareas of criminology: criminal statistics - Collection, collation, and analysis of statistical info. The centre for criminal justice statistics (ottawa) Surveys explore the dark figure of crime (unreported criminality and victimization: the sociology of crime - The role of social forces in shaping the criminal law (vice versa) Heinous crimes: the etiology of crime - Focus on motivations and decision making processes. Few scientific studies can accurately prove why people become criminals. Struggle to identify factors (biology, early family life, psychological states, economic, political and social factors: criminal behavioural systems - Focus on research and description of specific criminal types. Provide rich and detailed data (can"t get from stats: penology - Study of prisons and corrective apparatus of cjs (halfway houses, sentencing sanctions, alternative measures, prisons) Conservative criminologists - use of law as force to control society. Other criminologists - cjs should serve treatment and rehabilitation.
