The Importance Of Sociology And Criminology

737 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Crime & Society

Sociology and Criminology are a part of everyday life; it can be applied to all aspects and scenarios within lives. Studying Sociology in A Levels has given me the knowledge to look deeper into society and figure out why something that seems so simple is not and has much deeper and complex meaning. It has given me the opportunity to develop a more in depth understanding of what goes on around me and around the world. I am eager to learn more about society and crime that goes on within it. Things such as, what happens to criminals behind bars and does the penal system actually reform their behaviour? It also interests me how crimes are reported and the effect this can have on wider society. Sociology has also helped me understand my other lessons more such as English, when I was reading Atonement, I was able to link the Marxist perspective into my essays as parts of the novel spoke about using a chocolate bar to make money from the Second World War, linking into Capitalism.
Currently I am studying the Crime and Deviance module in my A2 Sociology class, we are learning about labelling theory and how this can affect crime and deviant behaviours. Starting the Crime and Deviance topic has really fuelled my desire to study Sociology with Criminology even more because I am learning so much about how crime affects …show more content…

I am always very eager to learn new things about the society that we live in. I am passionate about learning more about these subjects and hopefully being able to pursue my career aspirations of being a social worker. University would help me do this as it would give me access to lecturers and special guests who have experience in the field that will give me a deeper understanding of the subject and the career path I’d like to take. It would also give me access to facilities, such as the university library, which would help me learn more about the subjects I’d like to

Show More
Related

  • Criminological Theories Essay

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Criminology is the scientific study of crimes and criminal behaviour. Criminological theories and research aim at giving us an understanding of the reasons and factors that influence why people commit crimes. There are two main types of crime: Blue collar crime and white collar crime. Blue-collar crimes is the term used to describe crimes that are committed primarily by people who are from a lower socioeconomic class while white-collar crime is usually committed by people in a higher socioeconomic class. The main difference between the two is “white-collar” crime is usually considered to be a victimless crime in which there is no one directly made to be in a worse situation than what they were in before . An example of the more common street

    Read More

  • Criminological Theories

    1966 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many of the traditional criminological theories focused more on biological, psychological and sociological explanations of crime rather than on the cost and benefits of crime. More conservative approaches, including routine actives, lifestyle exposure and opportunity theories have clearly incorporated crime rate patterns as a fundamental part of analyzing the economics of crime. Crime statistics are important for the simple reason that they help put theories into a logical perspective. For example, a prospective home owner may want to look at crime rates in areas of potential occupancy. On a more complex level, it helps law enforcement and legislators create effective crime reduction programs. Furthermore, it also helps these agencies determine if crime prevention programs, that have been in effect, have been successful. There are many factors that influence the rates of crime including socio economic status, geographical location, culture and other lifestyle factors. More specifically, Messner and Blau (1987) used routine activities theory to test the relationship between the indicators of leisure activities and the rate of serious crimes. They discussed two types of leisure actives, the first being a household pastime, which primarily focused on television watching. The second type was a non-household leisure event which was consisted of attendance to sporting events, cinemas, and entertainment districts. The focus of this paper will be to study the effects that substantial amounts of leisure activities have on the offender and the victim. Leisure activities not only make a crime more opportunistic for offenders, it may also provide offenders with motivation to engage in criminal activity. On the other hand, it may also be argue...

    Read More

  • Housing Inequality Sociology

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminologists also look at social factors and how they can influence crime. Rates of crime can be linked into social policies and this is what criminologists set out to identify. They’d do this by looking at social, political or economic factors that might make different types of crime more prevalent in certain areas. This can affect safe housing and education of people who live in these areas. This is very comparable to the idea from a social policy point of view that living in social housing also has detrimental effects on education attainment. Baldwin (1979) states that providing social housing and policies implemented by local authorities effected the distribution of crime in the UK. Baldwin and Bottoms (1976) conducted a study in Sheffield to try and find out why some housing estates are affected more by criminal activity. It was soon discovered that reputation on top of public housing policies were a major factor in crime distribution on certain estates. Residents often came and went but they almost felt like they had a duty to keep the reputation of the area alive. Criminologists have come to view some social problems as criminal justice problems. When certain areas look different or aren’t as well maintained as others they begin to develop social repercussions. Repercussions such as making it harder for the people who come from these areas to find employment or, even hinder moving into other social

    Read More

  • Public Criminology

    3279 Words  | 7 Pages

    Simon, J. (2010). Public Criminology? A Cool Read on a Hot Topic. Governing Through Crime.

    Read More

  • Personal Statement For My Passion For Criminal Justice

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    In my undergraduate studies, I endeavored to further my knowledge and understanding up to the more advanced levels and achieved an outstanding result. As I started my CJ studies in the Spring of 2014, I became preoccupied by the systematic trainings that I received in the criminological theories, crime correction, and the relevant laws. I was keen to study for this particular program because I understood how this knowledge can be utilized to reduce and prevent crime to benefit the lower classes of different communities. These experiences helped me to build up a solid foundation to carry out higher-level research in the

    Read More

  • Exploring the Intricacies of Criminology and Crime Theories

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction: Criminology is a scientific approach to the study of crime and why it occurs. Criminologists examine this both on the individual and on the societal level. Meaning, why do individuals commit crime, and how society reacts to those crimes. As we look at the root causes of crime, we begin to notice certain aspects of people’s lives that causes them to offend - like a poor social standing, or perhaps an individual’s peer group who may allow or even support negative influences. We can also try to understand why some individuals choose NOT to offend and live pro-social lives despite negative external influences. These concepts and ideas are known as crime theories. There are many and they are wide-ranging.

    Read More

  • Essay On Criminology

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals. It is also a study that is constantly changing due to the people in our society, which political, economic and spiritual views of individuals come into consideration. Robert Agnew, an important man to the world of criminology, he was born on December first, in 1953, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Agnew fortunately is still living, and ages sixty years of age. He Attended Rutgers College, a school in New Jersey, where he received his Bachelors of Arts in sociology, although both his Masters and PhD in sociology he obtained in University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Sociology being the study of the functioning of human society. Agnew discovered his passion for teaching after her worked as a teacher’s assistant and served as Associate Editor to Social Forces Journal for a couple years. Agnew started teaching at Emory University, the courses he taught varied from criminology to the introduction of sociology. In addition to teaching, Robert Agnew wrote many books and articles about either criminology or sociology. He was also involved in both field’s sociology and criminology through academics, and contributed to them greatly. Although his best contribution was his development of the general strain theory. A theory in which Agnew elaborated on and decided to adjust his perspective. Having gone through bad experiences in one’s life, can influence in the way that a certain individual thinks, and can lead them towards a life involving crime in their everyday lives.

    Read More

  • Criminology: The Consensus View of Crime

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Criminology is the study of crime and criminals; a branch of sociology. More accurately, it is the study of crime as a social trend, and its overall origins, its many manifestations and its impact upon society as a whole. That makes it more a form of sociology than a law enforcement tool. But the trends it studies have a huge impact on the way the police do their jobs, the way society treats its criminals, and the way a given community goes about maintaining law and order. The writer will describe and give examples of the three perspectives of viewing crimes. The perspectives that will be highlighted are the consensus view, the conflict view or the interactionist view. Each perspective maintain its own interpretation of what constitutes criminal activities and what causes people to engage in criminal behaviors (Siegel, p.12).

    Read More

  • Critical Criminology

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Critical criminology, also known as radical criminology dates back to the concepts of Marxism. Despite the fact that Fredric Engels and Karl Marx were the founders of contemporary radical criminology, none of them gave explicit focus to crime. William Bonger (1876-1940), a Dutch criminologist was a more direct founder of this concept. It gained popularity during the early 1970s when it tried to explain the causes of contemporary social mayhem. He used economic explanations were used by critical criminology to analyze social behavior by arguing that social and economic inequalities were the main reason behind criminal behavior (Henry & Lainer, 1998). This view reduces the focus on individual criminals and elaborates that the existing crime is as a result of the capitalist system. Just like the conflict school of thought, it asserts that law is biased since it favors the ruling or the upper class and that the legal system that governs the state is meant to maintain the status quo of the ruling class. Critical criminologist are of the view that political, corporate and environmental crime are not only underreported but also inadequately punished by the existing criminal legal system.

    Read More

  • Broken Window Theory Essay

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    For sociology and crime the main thing to look to understand it is through the functionalist theoretical perspective. Crime is a learned behavior and that the surrounding environment does impact a person’s choice in committing a crime. Crime is a major part of how a society functions. With certain societies you have rules that govern what is acceptable to do and what is not either by law, or unspoken rules. (Macionis, 2015,Pages 171-188)

    Read More

  • Criminology: The Evolution of Crime

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology has evolved over history into becoming a discipline all its own, along the way it grew and developed from a multiple sources of disciplines to become an integration of various theories. Reasons that seek to explain crime and deviant behaviors has mirrored the time in which research was being conducted and as time continues to change it is to be expected more theories will arise to incorporate past theories to become ever more inclusive. It is important to understand this development from the formulation of theories, the evolution of, the determining factors in testing, particular process such as social learning that are upheld as strong empirically sound theories in order for scholars to continue to advance further studies. But it is unlikely crime will ever be solved completely, for in some instances it is a necessary evil, yet it can be hoped that with the knowledge obtained thus far and that to be discovered crime and deviance might be reduced, prevented and controlled in the future to come.

    Read More

  • Criminology in the Past and Today

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Law today is a summary of various principles from around the world from the past and the present. Early practises of law were the foundation of the law that we know and abide by today. These practises were referred to as the Classical school. Over time however, different criminologist have altered and greatly improved the early, incomplete ideas and made them more complete and practical to more modern times. This newer version is referred to as the Positivist school. This rapid change from the classical to the positivist perspective was due to the change and growth of civilization. Even though one perspective came from another, they are still different in many ways and it is evident when relating them to section 462.37, Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime, and section 810, Sureties to keep the Peace. The Classical School of criminology’s time of dominance was between 1700 and 1800. Its conception of deviance was that deviance was a violation of the social contract. Classical theorists believed that all individuals were rational actors and they were able to act upon their own free will. A person chose to commit crimes because of greed and because they were evil. The primary instrument that could be used in regards to the classical school to control crime was to create “criminal sanctions that instil fear of punishment in those contemplating criminal acts” (Gabor 154). Classical school theorists believed the best defence was a good offence and therefore they wanted to instil so much fear into people about what would happen to them if they were to commit a crime that even those who were only thinking of committing a crime were impacted greatly. The classical school individuals operated entirely on free will and it was their ...

    Read More

  • Youth Crime Essay

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to answer my question I need to undergo research to comprehend the concept of criminology and to determine how long this area of interest has been studied to ensure any conclusions made are valid. Mikaela Murray (Law Student) (2014) states “criminology is the scientific procedure of studying both sociological and individual criminal actions.” Clifford Sanders also agrees criminology is the study of both social and individual criminal actions but he believes it is divided into separate areas which including psychology economics, political science, natural science, biology and the evaluation and development of people.

    Read More

  • Criminology Definition

    337 Words  | 1 Pages

    Criminology is a social science rather than a branch of law. Although there are several different theories surrounding criminology, they all share a common goal: the search for the causes of criminal behavior in the hopes that this information can be transformed into policies that will be effective in handling or even eliminating crime.

    Read More

  • The Development Of Criminology

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    This essay will examine the early approaches of criminology which aided in its development using the theories of Beccaria (theory of freewill) and Lombroso (biological theory), and will compare the arguments for rehabilitation and for treatment. An answer to what Criminology could be is that it is the scientific/theoretical study of crime and criminals which incorporates into its study both individuals, society and organisations. Criminology came about at the end of the 1700s from society’s need to understand crime in the social world. The purpose of Criminology is to give us an insight into the criminal mind/world. Criminology incorporates other social sciences such as psychology, history

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Sociology And Criminology

Open Document