Dimensions of Criminology: A Study of Crime

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When examining criminal acts one will find that there many aspect which contributes to the actually crime itself. The expert have for years sought to discover the root cause of crime. Some of the primitive research considered the facial features, the contour of the skull as the sources of the criminal behavior. In addition, there are researchers who believe that the offender environment is a determining factor in their criminal behavior. This is to say that offender who was raised poor or lived in a crime-infested area will be impacted by these factors. This paper will examine several of the factors that make up the dimension of criminology.

Biological and Psychological Explanation of Crime

“The theories of crime causation as proposed by Cesare Lombroso an Italian physician is based on biological explanations” (Conklin, 2010, p. 105). The biological explanations of crime rely on physical attribute to conclude why some people are criminals. Lombroso further theorized that criminal were atavisms or born out of time. In other words, he was saying that criminal has the makeup of primitive people or an animal.

“Lombroso implies that criminal tendencies are something a person has at birth” (Conklin, 2010, p. 106). One major concern with Lombroso’s theory was the unintended stereotyping. Moreover, it created environment for prejudice and discrimination. For instance the different race and ethnicity could easily be indentified a potential criminal. This theory in turn created a mistrust of certain people in society. Lombroso theory was also flawed because he did not a proper test group in his research. His theory did lend to the development of c...

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