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When investigators are examining and studying crime from a scientific perspective, this is referred to as criminology.  This includes the parallels between crime and different forms of phenomenon such as the development of particular types of laws.  Criminology also works to identify how to address the criminal behavior of criminals and how to eventually control the criminal element.  Drawing on psychological and sociological research, criminologists are able to look at the different ways in which a criminal’s environment will affect them.  It can also help when it comes to profiling criminals in order to understand them and have a better chance of catching a criminal that is on the loose.  By using criminology, individuals are able to not only profile a potential perpetrator, but they are also able to take a more intellectual look at how crime is perpetuated in our world and what steps can be taken in order to limit crime.

There are different schools of thought when it comes to how individuals approach the concept of criminology.  Some of the most popular schools include those that are known as the Classical school, the Positivist school and the Chicago school.  These schools were developed over a period of time, ranging from the middle of the 19th century and continuing well into the 20th century with the Chicago school of thought.  One of the main factors that differentiate the schools of thought would be how the criminologists view environment in the life of the criminal.  Some believe that the criminals have to take responsibility for their actions regardless of what is happening in the environment at the time, in line with the Classical movement, while others believe that criminals may be predisposed to crime, as is proposed by the Positivists.  The Chicago school of thought poses the possibility that criminals are able to learn deviant behaviors from others and that when social organizations, such as schools and neighborhoods, are not organized they will not be able to control the criminal element that occurs.  By identifying how an individual feels that crime is either created or continued, it can provide the basis for the school of thought that the individual falls under when it comes to criminology.

Criminology experts look at crime in a variety of different manners.  By defining the distinctions between the different types of crimes, it is easier to come up with theories as to how and why the crime took place.  One type of crime would be those that go against core values.  These seemingly natural laws are ones that are common among many different cultures, separated by time and space.  Natural laws are those that are considered to be able to protect individuals and their property from abuse by others.  Some of the more controversial laws include statutes which are put into place by legal institutions.  The relationship between state and citizen is explored in these laws, which is what causes the conflict in some instances.  As a result of looking at the different construction foundations behind laws, it is possible to understand the many different ways in which crimes are categorized.  Organized crime, state crime, blue or white collar crimes and organized crime are some of the most popular types of crime that exist.

Criminology is a theoretical science that is used in order to try to explain not only the relationship between the criminal and society, but also the relation of judiciary committee in the social setting and the criminal element in the social setting as well.  By looking at different pieces of the scientific puzzle, it is possible for many people to come up with theories to explain how society functions with crime, in response to it and as a means to perpetuate the crimes.  Through these specific theories, it is possible for individuals to understand some different stances on how crime is created in a society and how a society may influence an individual’s decision to commit a particular crime.  In some cases, it is also used in order to determine how time and the general implications on moral and immoral behavior in a society.  This can be one of the biggest considerations that are taken when a government is thinking about making an amendment to their laws.

For example, homosexuality was considered, for a long time, to be illegal within the United Kingdom, including England.  However, what ended up happening in 1967 was that a law was passed that allowed individuals to act in homosexual ways if they chose to, but only if the individual was over the age of 21.  This helps to expose that there was likely nothing wrong with the specific act, but the people of the time that viewed the act.  This is how criminology approaches crime.  They look at the specific crime, and then look to determine how society or laws may have affected the crime at that period of time.  As a result, criminologists are able to use these crimes and examples in order to understand more fully how individuals react in a society when it comes to laws and regulations.  Criminology does not study crimes and specific laws.  Rather, they simply study the reactions between individuals that are exposed to this type of situation.  This helps them to be able to accurately understand how society functions.  Crime seems to be an inevitable part of society.  If we can one day understand why this is so, we stand a better chance of being able to one day eliminate crime from different societies.

Criminology is a unique field because it does not try to eliminate crime conclusively right now.  They understand that first it is necessary to research and understand how society and crime are interrelated in different societies.  Once this is clearly understood, we can begin to eliminate the criminal elements within a society.  Because there are so many different societies, and crime does not relate the same way in all of them, it is very important to make sure that blanket theories are not created in order to try to attack crime on all points within the world.  Rather, there are different rules and structures that play within different areas and may affect crime.  Criminology views crime as something that cannot be avoided at the current time, but perhaps could be at some point when we understand more about interactions between the community and the individual.

When it comes to the science of exploring how crime and society interacts, there are number of different theories that have been developed with the attempt to explain what causes such reactions in individuals.  Over time, there have been many different theories that have been established and in most cases these theories have been developed as a reaction to the social or judicial challenges or changes that have been created.  Criminology theory is important.  While there are many theories that cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in every single society and cultural setting, it is very important for individuals to keep looking and keep developing different theories.  By understanding past theories that have failed or not be able to be applied successfully to different crime settings, it is more likely that individuals will be able to work up to theories that can be applied in these different settings.

Criminology is a very broad science.  It covers many different types of crimes and cultures or societies in which the crimes take place.  Another area that is covered by the scientific study would be the laws that are created by society in response to the various crimes that have been committed in the area.  While criminology itself as a science was not created and defined as a term until the end half of the 1800′s, there were many theories that were almost instantaneously created in order to promote the science.  Some of the theories were based around the individual and their role in crimes, but others were more interested by taking the role of society into consideration as the cause for certain crimes in different areas.  Over time, these theories were elaborated on and re-defined in order to make sense in the time period which would be applying the theory to their studies of the social setting in a set time frame.

It is very important for individuals to understand that criminology is a theoretical science.  In effect, this means that criminology will likely not be able to have a set definition of cause and effect when it comes to crime and the society in which the criminal is brought up.  At the very most, we have these theories that are constantly being improved upon in order to try to understand crime in a specific society for a specific period of time.  Some of the most popular theories that have come forth so far include the conflict theories, in which the individual criminal alone is held responsible for their reactions, as well as the rational choice theory in which it is maintained that the criminal is able to come up with the pros and cons of an action or crime before they perform the action, and that they ultimately decide that there are more pros than cons when it comes to that criminal decision.  Certain theories cannot be applied across the board.  For example, these theories may be applied to both females and males, but the feminist theories in relation to criminology will maintain that this approach cannot be used and that females need their own theories when it comes to criminology and what motivates women to commit crimes.

When it comes to understanding the theories behind connections between crimes and individuals or the community, many people may not realize that the beliefs that differentiate the theories are not as complex as they may seem at first.  By simplifying the core of the theories, individuals are able to more properly understand the different theories that can help individuals to identify the theory that they most identify with when considering the interactions of crime and society.  Once the foundation of the theories are understood, it is much easier to build upon the theory by including some of the more complex ideas supported by the theory.  A number of theories exist, and many are being created daily on the part of individuals.  However, there are a few theories that are more common and widely held as beliefs than other theories may be.

There are social structure theories, or those theories that the status and construction of the social setting will define the likelihood and amount of crime in the area.  Individuals that are exposed to poverty and other signs of social deterioration are believed to be more prone to crimes and acts of violence.  There are other specific social theories that believe crime is perpetuated by the inequality that exists within the social structure that is established.  When people are unable to achieve that which society expects of them, such as the American Dream, these individuals turn to crime to try to realize this dream.  Individual theories exist in order to explain criminology within a society.  Trait theories are those based on scientific knowledge of the human body and how chemicals and genetic material will determine or alter how an individual responds to stimuli.  Aggressive behavior and antisocial tendencies are just some of the many personality traits of individuals that are involved in crime, and the links to genetics, hormones and other biological factors are currently being studied.

Some theories stop looking at what encourages an individual to become corrupt, and instead focus on the effects of society to explain how and why some people are able to lead productive and admirable lives.  These theories are commonly referred to as control or social control theories.  In an example, it is illustrated that an individual that has a greater degree of self control will be able to wait patiently while attaining their dream or goal instead of using possibly degenerate means in order to gain immediate access to their desire.  Symbolic interaction as a theory examines the relationship of the powerful, ruling class and those that are less powerful.  By integrating themselves into the belief that they were less powerful, youths that were looked down on played up to the role designated to them.  It represents a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts since the youths are taking the more powerful group at their word and transferring the definition onto themselves as criminals.

Of the last main theories that surround criminology, rational choice theory maintains that criminals weigh the pros and cons of an outcome just like anyone else.  When the costs and benefits are dissected, the criminal will make a decision.  They may also consider the time and place for the crime as well in order to find the situation with the lowest crime risk.

In order to succeed at getting a degree in Criminology from almost any reputable college or graduate program, it will be necessary at one point or another that the students write research papers from the perspectives of different fields that relate to Criminology.  In some instances, the professors of the classes will enable the students to come up with a thesis of their own.  This allows more flexibility on the part of the student, since they are able to define for themselves what they want to discuss and what they want to leave out of their research.  As long as the research that is left out is not critical to the thesis, this is typically allowed.  However, in many cases the professors will not give the students this option.  Instead, the professor will supply the students with a question, or a list of questions from which the student can choose the one that they would most like to turn into a term or research paper.  The difference between these two scenarios is that the individual student needs to be sure that when they are doing a paper that has been assigned to them that they fully answer the research question posed to them.  If this is not accomplished, it is very likely that the student will not be able to get as competitive of a grade as they would otherwise have been entitled to.  This is why it is so important to fully tackle the research question.

When it comes to successfully answering posed questions with the greatest amount of success, students need to do their research.  For many people, it is beneficial to use the internet as a source of information.  Students need to be careful with this approach when they are trying to answer research questions for a grade.  There are many different websites on the internet, and not all of them are reputable.  Instead, students need to get their information for other places, or at least in addition to information found on the internet.

There are a number of different journals that are reputable and legitimate.  Easily found in many libraries, the Canadian Journal of Criminology and the British Journal of Criminology are two of the most successful available resources.  Both feature articles and information that comes from all different areas of the world and different academics.  Many schools will also have Criminology databases that can be accessed by students and this too provides a valuable tool during the research phase of a students Criminology paper.  The database includes journals, articles and periodicals that are popular within the world of Criminology.  Searching is very important for students to accomplish properly and it is important that they not give up before the research is completed.  Not only can this affect their grade, but it will not accurately show the capabilities of the students.  In order to successfully answer research questions that are posed to students by professors and teachers, students need to come up with a well defined thesis that can be supported by different theories and ideas that are or have been expressed within the Criminology arena.  Many professors are looking for new and expansive ideas, so this does not mean that the student needs to recycle material.  Rather, they need to draw on the work of individuals that have come before them and use the knowledge of the past to help promote their new ideas and concepts.

On the Internet, there are a number of schools that will offer courses and educational material as a basis for individuals to receive various online degrees.  One of the many degrees that can be attained by individuals wishing to study on the internet would include Criminology.  There are a number of different career paths that are open to individuals with a Criminology degree.  Because of this, it is a very popular and eagerly sought degree by individuals that would like to go back to school in order to earn a degree, but who may feel that they do not have the time or financial means to dedicate to a full time pursuit of the degree.  Convenience and efficiency are offered to the individual would-be student and they are able to graduate after meeting the requirements of their chosen online schooling establishment.  There are some criteria that individuals will need to meet before they are able to receive a valid degree in Criminology from an online institution.

First of all, individuals will only qualify if they are prepared to do the work that is mandated by the school.  It is still important for the student to be willing and able to learn about the different studies and courses that will be taught.  Without committing to this responsibility, an individual will not be able to meet the standards that are set for them and they will likely lose the money that they have invested in the venture.  When a person is prepared for the dedication that they need to have in order to graduate with a Criminology online degree, they will be able to attend the school and succeed in the courses that they will be required to take in order to graduate.  In many cases, this will also include the ability to purchase the necessary course work packets, books and journals.  Just like in typical and traditional classroom settings, reading and response work will need to be completed in order to make sure that the individual understands and comprehends the course work that is being taught.  One of the supplements of classroom time is work outside the classroom.  Traditionally, this will include the reading or certain texts or articles, which will sometimes need to be purchased by the individual students.

Those who qualify to receive a Criminology online degree will also need to be financially able to afford the courses.  For students that are not able to individually pay for their education, there are often different financial aid offices at schools, even online.  By utilizing the help of the financial aid department, a student can typically work out a payment plan with the school.  This allows the school to make the money that they need to have from the students in order to pay the salaries of professors and other educational needs, and the student is able to begin their journey to graduation.  A Criminology degree that is received online is respectable, but it is the amount of time that the individual puts into the learning process that will determine how much they will personally get out of the experience.

In order for anyone to get a degree in Criminology, it is important that they pass a series of tests that have been standardized and mandated by the specific college which the student attends or in which the student partakes.  In order to ensure that men and women struggling to receive a criminology degree know the important basics of criminology and the relationship between crime and the public, it is important for the students to learn the same basic elements of the field.  For example, there are three widely held beliefs that define different causes of crime and the criminal.  These are known as the schools of thought for Criminology.  The lesson plan at any college would then likely, if not undoubtedly, include an exploration of these different schools of thought in order to examine how people viewed the field over time.  It is also important to note the differences that take place over time.  Many people may not know it, but more schools of thought opened up after it was revealed that there might be some kind of link between an individual and their chemical or genetic makeup.  Even hormones have been speculated to make a difference in this field.

By looking at the different schools of thought, an individual can understand how time and scientific advances lead to a more individual understanding of how crime is produced.  Many theories also arose in order to try to help explain what affected an individual and enticed them to commit a crime, including how society in general may have contributed to this calling.  Lombroso believed that a criminal is born with the particular defect, and that a man or woman that possessed the chemical and biological makeup of a criminal will have no choice but to succumb to that lifestyle.  Supporters believe that this is the nature of the criminal, and no amount of nurturing can change the outcome.  Initially, crime was expected, by individuals such as Cohen and Felson, to be a choice.  These people believe that criminals could choose to make a different decision but due to indifference or lack of knowledge, these individuals do not want to choose morality over the instant gratification that is rewarded by crime.  These different theories would test and be attributed to the different criminologists, all done while students are engaged in a criminology class, and preparing for the life that awaits them after graduation.

A look at the criminal mind and the rational mind would also likely help individuals to establish their own personal beliefs about criminology and the reactions of society and deviance.  It is important to allow individuals to examine these things individually in order to encourage students taking part in a lesson plan for the material to be able to form their own opinion, without it being the suggestion of someone else.  In this way, it can be suggested that bias does not affect the lives of the individuals that are studying criminology, or influence the way in which they think about or relate to crime.

Psychology is the scientific study of an individual’s behaviors and thoughts as a basis for their personality and reactionary processes.  There are many reasons that a person may be studied by a psychologist.  Sometimes, the people who are being studied are simply trying to find ways to move past a particular feeling or longing that they cannot seem to let go of on their own.  By using psychology and investing in the help that they can receive from a psychologist, a person can be shown the different ways in which they approach situations and learn to react differently and redefine their approaches to problems or stressors.  In learning different habits as reaction processes, a person can learn to overcome different problems or feelings that they may have not been able to do at an earlier time, before being studied in the psychology field.  Psychologists tend to amass the information that they are able to gather from different subjects in order to learn about how the human mind operates in a general sense.  The information can be used also to notice the similarities and differences that exist between the individual mind and assessment of life.

While Criminology is also the study of an individual’s behavior and thought process, there is a specific outcome that is being sought by the criminologist.  The individual’s actions and thoughts are being investigated in order to learn how that individual is able to either overcome or succumb to the different elements of crime that exist within an environment.  There are many different thoughts surrounding how a criminal comes to be.  Some believe a criminal is born with the natural instinct to be deviant while others believe that the criminal element is nurtured within an individual by specific environmental aspects.  Criminologists are often in the pursuit of why and how a person is able to act out in a way that is either hurtful to themselves or others.  They use their knowledge in order to provide a safe and comforting environment for the general public.

Psychological criminology is a specific branch of criminology that combines these two perspectives.  By using psychology as the only basis for the invention of the individual, criminologists are able to generate a profile of the perpetrator.  In looking at an individual’s actions or behavior patterns, psychological criminologists are able to see into the personality of the individual that is being tracked or studied.  This can help criminologists to analyze the pattern in order to cut the perpetrator off before they are able to perform their next criminal act, if the individual is still on the loose, or it can help the criminologist to understand how the crime came to be, in effect determining the motive for the crime.  However, psychological criminologists are typically not the ones who will help criminals to move beyond their behavioral or mental deviants.  Instead, they generally use their knowledge in order to help others understand what the criminal did and why, effectively helping to get answers out of the criminal that may be useful or necessary.

By analyzing the mind, both criminologists and psychologists are attempting to gain insight into the individual.  While in some instances this is being done for the benefit of the individual, in other instances this is being done in order to keep the public at large safe from the individual.

There are a number of ways in which an individual is able to couple criminology and the practices of forensic science in order to catch a criminal.  In some cases, the individual is profiled through criminology and matched up to the forensic evidence left at the scene of the crime.  However, there are a number of other ways in which the two genres are used together in order to bring about justice within the penal system.  Criminology is the study of how science and environment affects the criminal mind, as well as the interaction between individuals or communities and the criminal element.  Forensic science is the area of study in which individuals are able to transform one small piece of information into something of substance.  In many cases, forensic scientists are able to use pieces of forensic evidence and what they learn from this piece in order to effectively illustrate either a link between and individual and the crime or an alibi for the individual wrongly accused of a crime.

A few major career focus areas for forensic scientists exist.  Criminology areas of expertise range as well, although they are all trained by learning similar material in school.  Forensic science fields are especially diverse and offer unique benefits within each one.  Together, the members of the forensic science and criminology teams are able to work together in order to piece together their separate information to come up with one solution near completion, based on the facts they have all gathered.  For example, a police officer working as a criminology expert may be able to psychologically profile a suspect, but they would require the help of a forensic scientist in order to match carpet fibers from the crime scene to carpet fibers in the suspect’s home or vehicle.  By linking together all the separate notions that each individual is able to learn, a complete or near complete timeline of the suspect and crime can be composed.  With enough evidence, this can be taken before a court and the trial will begin against the alleged suspect.

Some of the categories that exist for individuals involved in forensic work include medical examiners that inspect corpses, crime laboratory analysts that are able to look at the chemical and biological makeup of pieces of evidence, crime scene examiners, and those that assist in a technical or academic capacity.  Through the combination of these different branches, coupled with the work of criminologists, crimes can be pieced together in a more logical and straightforward way, in order to illustrate to juries and judges the events of the crime and suspected individual.  This is especially important because in serious cases the jury has to be in agreement that there is no reasonable doubt on the part of the individual defendant’s role in the crime.  In other cases, the defense will use the forensic evidence in order to clear their defendant of the charge or charges against them.  By using virtually irrefutable evidence of a scientific nature, the jury and the judge are able to clearly see how crimes are or are not linked to the suspect.

In undergraduate school, it is very important for individuals to be able to understand the material that they need to learn in order to graduate.  This is why it is so critical for many teachers and professors to make sure that the text books they assign to their classes are able to understand the material that is written inside of the book.  Because criminology is a theoretical science, it can be difficult to understand in all instances since there are no set or guaranteed facts, only theories that can be followed by the individual.  As a result, it can be challenging for some students to succinctly understand the many different theories that are and have been used by individuals that illustrate criminology in a particular time or place.  The course text Criminology Explaining Crime and Context 5th edition is one of the best books that will explain these theories and the contexts in which they have been used over time to the student.  This is important because many career opportunities after college will require the individual to understand different key elements of the theories and approaches that are used when it comes to criminology.  By learning this information prior to graduating, students are able to have a better chance of being successful in the field of criminology after graduation.

This is a book that is used in many instances to be the core text of the course.  It is very effective and covers a lot of the necessary material that individual interested in studying criminology will need to learn.  Some professors will implement this course text as a book to be used to help introduce individuals to the different concepts and theories that relate to criminology.  Others will wait a little longer to introduce the students to criminology in order to ensure that the students are properly prepared for what they will have to learn and cover when it comes to being able to graduate with enough information.  Most courses will need a specific amount of time in order to properly cover the necessary information within the course text book.

However, in the class room is not the only place where individuals can benefit from reading this material.  There are many individuals that have an outside interest in the world of criminology.  If a person is not interested in going to school in order to get a degree in criminology, but they still have a desire to know more about the science, then it can be very helpful for them to get this book in order to learn many of the similar things that they would learn if they had been going to classes on the matter.  By allowing individuals to access pertinent information in a manner that is straightforward, more people are able to understand and learn about the complex theoretical science known as criminology.  Like most text books in colleges, the text reader is fairly expensive, but the material inside the book is very beneficial and advantageous to the individual that is using it as a learning device, for personal or professional gain.