Four Perspectives Of Criminology

Criminology has been defined as the scientific study of the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and society’s reactions to the breaking of the laws (Riedel & Welsh, 2011). While criminology focuses on trying to explain the behavior of the offenders, it also tries to understand four central themes such as the conflict between personal liberty and the safety of the community. When the different law enforcement agencies, courts and corrections are on the same page they are seen as working together. The second theme explores what happens when one system affects the others.The third and fourth themes deal with ethical and legal decisions as well as ensuring those decisions being made after the information is scientifically gathered and properly evaluated. Criminology or criminologist study causes if the crimes committed by the individual and are known to work on the front end of the criminal justice system. The study of criminology relies on scientific theories and methods in order to understand and evaluate criminality. It looks at the causes reviewing the intentions, motivations, and background of the offenders involved in their studies.

The public health perspective has a different look at crime and that it’s main focus is on reducing the risk of harm. It views violence as emerging from a complex casual

system that includes offender intentions, motivation, and characteristics. (Riedel & Welsh, 2011) The public health perspective also emphasizes on prevention rather than reaction which is what most criminal justice agencies work on. Public health systems is known for dealing with injuries, both intentional and unintentional, as well as diseases. The public health system wants to repair the harm done to individuals and look for ways to reduce future harm by looking at the risk factors that led to the injuries in the first place. In order to understand the risks, the public health perspective uses a four step risk based approach: Surveillance, risk group identification, risk factor exploration, and program design and implementation. These risk factors are then broken down into three broad classes: structural and cultural risk such as poverty level, criminogenic commodities such as guns, alcohol, and drugs, and situational risk such as the interactions and settings that elevated those risks (Riedel & Welsh, 2011).

Another difference between the two fields is their means of interventions.

The criminal justice perspective is reactive while the public health perspective is proactive. The three different preventions discussed are the primary, secondary, and tertiary. The public health perspective concentrates on primary preventions. Primary prevention tends to look at and target and then alter one or more critical factors. Secondary prevention is where the factors are identified and key changes in development of disease, death, and injuries are changed. Tertiary prevention occurs after the illness or injury has occurred and looks for ways to minimize or reduce

reoccurrence.