Criminological Theory And The Wire
Criminological Theory and The Wire
Rachel Bohnenberger
Professor Kozey
JLC 205-001
13 April 2015
Crime has existed for as long as human beings have been able to differentiate between actions that are good and actions that are bad. Whether or not an action that is considered bad is a crime is determined by laws set forth by local, state, or federal governments and the severity of the crime is determined by those whose job it is to interpret the laws, such as a police officer or a judge. While differentiating between what is and is not a crime can be as easy as determining whether or not a law had been broken, figuring out the offender’s motivation for committing a crime is a more complex task. Criminology is a multidisciplinary social science that studies the causes, types, and reactions to criminal behavior. Criminologists attempt to explain a person or group of people’s reasons or motivations behind why a crime was committed using criminological theories. One reason this is done is to aid in the creation of policies within the criminal justice system to better understand why crime is committed and find ways to prevent future crimes from occurring. Criminology has evolved through three eras, each with its own general explanations as to why crime occurs. The first era was the Theological era that lasted roughly from the 1200s through the 1600s. The Theological era explanations of criminal behavior were spiritual and religious mannerisms involving possession with physical, inhumane punishments that were not proportional to the severity of the crime. The second era of criminology was the Metaphysical era. This era lasted only through the 1700s and explained crime by stating that the offender made the choice to commit a crime and that committing crime was the most beneficial and rational thing to do at the time. The current era of criminology is known as the Scientific era—from the 1800s to the present. This era focuses on applying scientific
Rachel Bohnenberger
Professor Kozey
JLC 205-001
13 April 2015
Crime has existed for as long as human beings have been able to differentiate between actions that are good and actions that are bad. Whether or not an action that is considered bad is a crime is determined by laws set forth by local, state, or federal governments and the severity of the crime is determined by those whose job it is to interpret the laws, such as a police officer or a judge. While differentiating between what is and is not a crime can be as easy as determining whether or not a law had been broken, figuring out the offender’s motivation for committing a crime is a more complex task. Criminology is a multidisciplinary social science that studies the causes, types, and reactions to criminal behavior. Criminologists attempt to explain a person or group of people’s reasons or motivations behind why a crime was committed using criminological theories. One reason this is done is to aid in the creation of policies within the criminal justice system to better understand why crime is committed and find ways to prevent future crimes from occurring. Criminology has evolved through three eras, each with its own general explanations as to why crime occurs. The first era was the Theological era that lasted roughly from the 1200s through the 1600s. The Theological era explanations of criminal behavior were spiritual and religious mannerisms involving possession with physical, inhumane punishments that were not proportional to the severity of the crime. The second era of criminology was the Metaphysical era. This era lasted only through the 1700s and explained crime by stating that the offender made the choice to commit a crime and that committing crime was the most beneficial and rational thing to do at the time. The current era of criminology is known as the Scientific era—from the 1800s to the present. This era focuses on applying scientific