Criminology in the society

Criminology in the society:
Does it contribute in the decreasing of delinquency?
Belen Perez
ENG300-13: Advanced Middle School English
Vicki Foss
15 October 2013
Belen Perez
Teacher Foss
ENG300-13: Advanced Middle School English
15 October 2013
Criminology in the society:
Does it contribute in the decreasing of delinquency?
The term “Criminology” comes from the Latin Crime which means accusation, however this science studies many other things than just the crimes themselves. This field originated in Europe between the 70`s and 80`s, and over the years it has been improved, until the grade that it has supported diverse cases, such as an evidence or a prediction that leads to the criminal. The criminologists are responsible of answering why would someone have committed a crime and how this affects the society. Because criminology studies the causes and impacts of the crimes, it helps in the decrease of delinquency.
First, criminology is related to sociology, so it can study the behavior of criminals. Both, criminology and sociology, study the crime, but the second one looks for aspects that involve deeper details about the offender, specially, the ones that form his behavior.“A sociologist analyze the social context of a person’s situation, examining the offender’s race, neighborhood, social circle, income level, education level, job or career, and type of childhood to determine why a person became delinquent” (“What Is Sociological Criminology?”). Also, it is known by the sociologists that a person constitutes himself with the things that he learns from his personal groups, like close friends or family, this can make that an individual adopt an attitude or rationalization associated with criminal acts. Thanks to its search of information about the environment of the criminal, it helps with the decrease of delinquency.
Second, criminologists create programs that reduce the probabilities of creating a delinquent. The SCP – Situational Crime Prevention- is a set of programs or strategies made by criminologists that can help in the decrease of delinquency. A recognized author of many articles of the volume "SCP", Ronald V. Clarke, writes:
Situational crime prevention seeks to reduce opportunities for specific categories of crime by increasing the associated risks and difficulties and reducing the rewards. It is composed of three main elements: an articulated theoretical framework, a standard methodology for tackling specific crime problems, and a set of opportunity-reducing techniques... Displacement of crime has not proved to be the serious problem once thought, and there is now increasing recognition that situational measures may result in some "diffusion of benefits" to crimes not directly targeted. (91)
Finally, it supports the education of many individuals so they don’t end up being criminals. Criminologists study more than just crimes, they analyze their origin and causes, which includes the criminal´s childhood and the things that made him became one. For example, as reported by criminologists’ studies, the most common patterns that a serial killer presents during its childhood are: living in an unstable household, having an extraordinary intelligence, suicide attempts or behavioral problems (especially at school), a fascination for killing small animals, or having an extended bed-wetting. Actually according to statistics, “over 60% of serial killers wet the bed past the age of 12, because of traumas or some type of abuse suffered in home" (“Child Criminology: Early Signs of a Killer”). As we had mentioned before, the criminology can prevent delinquency by educating the society and, specifically, the children. It can change their environment so they can develop their life in a healthy and peaceful way, and, if it´s given the occasion, find the children who already present the patterns mentioned before, so that specialists can help them and guide them in the right direction.
In summary, the field of criminology does reduce delinquency and, not just that, it also helps in the analysis of cause and effect. It creates a union between many other fields so that, together, they can discover how the environment and, everything that a human being experiences, affects its behavior and the society. You must be wondering, so what? Why should this interest me? Well, if you look upon everything we just mentioned, you might notice that we all are related to this subject, every single person of the society affects the delinquency, either in a good or bad way. Therefore, criminology helps identifying how everyone´s behavior and characteristics creates, directly or indirectly, a criminal mind and, consequently, delinquency.
Works Cited
“Child Criminology: Early Signs of a Killer.” This Blog Rules. 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
Clarke, Ronald. “Situational Crime Prevention.” Jstor. Chicago Journals, 1995. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
“Crime in the United States 2012.” The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. government,2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
Roufa, Timothy. “Criminology: What is it?” Criminology Careers. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
“Research Themes.” Centre for criminology. University of Oxford, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Sanders, Clifford. “Understanding Criminology Theories.” Criminology. 2013. Web. 22 Sept.2013.
“What Is Sociological Criminology?.” Wise Geek. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.