Criminology

The Essentials

James Treadwell

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781446290088
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

This is an essential introduction to undergraduate studies in criminology. Short, clear and concise, it provides a comprehensive overview of the key themes covered on your criminology course.

The second edition provides:

• Summaries of key course content, including new sections on race and ethnicity, cybercrime, ordinary crime, state crime, global and comparative criminology, green criminology and zemiology
• A helpful study skills section with extensive advice on how to write essays and pass exams, including new sections on how to avoid plagiarism and how to find, read and use journal articles
• Recent international case studies drawn from the United Kingdom, Australia, Africa and The United States
• An all new companion website providing guides to further reading and links to relevant blogs, journal articles and useful websites

Criminology: The Essentials is an indispensible learning tool. As well as mapping out course content in a coherent and engaging way, it offers helpful hints and tips for getting the most out of your studies.

PART ONE

INTRODUCTION

Core areas:

1.1 Introduction

1.2 How to use this book

1.3 Why use this book?

1.4 Criminology essentials: thinking like a criminologist

1.5 What is crime?

1.6 Perspectives on crime

1.7 Categorizing criminological theory

1.1 INTRODUCTION

When I first encountered criminology, I was keen to know more about what the subject involved. My introduction to criminology came in the form of a fairly complicated textbook that had been recommended by a tutor, which I purchased before the first term of my degree. As I tried to comprehend what was contained within its pages, I found myself gripped by a strange feeling of dread. I had never counted myself amongst the most successful or gifted students, and can acknowledge now, with perhaps less shame or guilt than I felt then, that I struggled to understand the subject. I can empathise with the difficulties that those new to this subject can encounter.

Criminology can be a complicated subject, and it is not made any more simple by the complex terminology that is used in the subject, the variety and size of the subject area. This book was first written as an attempt to help those looking for a simple overview that will help them to get familiar with the discipline. It was originally published as a course companion for Sage, and I was really pleased that a number of students and academics told me that it had proved useful in making the subject slightly easier to navigate. In this expanded and substantially revised edition I have sought to stay true to the original aim of making complicated concepts understandable, and if it manages that it will hopefully be of some use. I have, however, received feedback about omissions from the previous attempt, and so have included new sections and expanded parts of the text. The aim of this text remains the same: to assist those new to the discipline who are unsure of the subject and who are looking to understand the basics of criminology get to grips with some of the core issues – the ‘essential’ basics of the subject.

It is not intended to replace textbooks, journals and more specialist texts. It aims to make the initial stages of the journey in studying criminology a little less complex, introducing the theories and terms that are common to criminology, and doing so in a way that will benefit the average reader without much previous knowledge. If those new to the discipline can make use of this book in the initial stages of study then it has served its purpose well.

The new and revised edition of this book is now also accompanied by a companion website, which is accessible at www.sagepub.co.uk/treadwell. The website, which contains resources for both lecturing staff and tutors and undergraduates, intends to complement and build on the material presented here. For example, students will find additional readings which underpin the core curriculum as outlined in the book, while lecturers adopting the book as essential recommended reading can access material and information that can be incorporated into lecture slides or module guides, which develop the themes of the book.

1.2 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The key to success in any criminology course is not simply to learn and use academic language. Nor is it simply to understand ‘core’ theories, although knowing the terms and concepts that mark out ‘academic criminology’ from everyday debates about crime and criminal justice is certainly part of the journey. This book will give you hints and tips about how to understand and use criminological theory, and how to apply and critique this theory when you encounter debates upon crime, criminality and the criminal justice system.

This book has been designed firstly as an introduction. Thereafter it will provide you with a guide that you can use as a reference point (to works that you should then read yourself). You should use Part 2 of this book to give you an overview of topic areas that you are likely to encounter, and build on what you find. Although there are summaries of the works of leading criminologists in textbooks, nothing can replace the knowledge that you will gain from making yourself familiar with the original works.

To that end you should not simply passively read the references here, but make use of them. In the first instance, having read a chapter you can then use the references in the text to inform your reading and look at the subjects in more detail. When you find references in the text you can trace these to the bibliography at the back of the book. Once you have the full reference for a book that you think will be useful to you try to trace the text. You can do this in several ways. The first stop should be your university library, but you can also use the internet and local bookstores to try and find a text. It is important that you do not come to rely upon one book, but instead learn how to direct your reading towards other relevant sources and material.

1.3 WHY USE THIS BOOK?

This book is also intended to help you to monitor your progress as you develop in your study. Progress will be made through reading and gaining insight, but it is also likely that you will have to prove your knowledge, and often this will require that you produce some form of written assessment. For that reason this book also contains sample questions. You can always use these as practice for the real thing; and practice will make you better.

The unique feature of this book is that it contains two sections (Parts 2 and 3) that complement and support one another and, if used in conjunction, should assist you in becoming a more informed and competent student. Part 2 provides an examination of ‘over-arching’ criminological theories (that is, those theories that inform ‘academic’ criminology and that criminologists use to support the arguments that they make) which are combined with more general discussions in the field. It is hoped that encountering both the theory and practice of academic criminology will help you to develop a more comprehensive knowledge of the subject. I will restate the point here that academic criminology and the theory that we use is never separate from what happens in the ‘real world’ of practice, and students should know not only about theory, but also about practices in ‘the real world’ of crime and the criminal justice system.

Part 3 has been designed to assist you in developing and sharpening the range of study skills that are necessary for studying criminology and is best used in conjunction with Part 2. It is intended to assist you in developing your skills so that you get the best from your reading, and it will assist you in developing a wide range of skills. However, these skills and your ability will only be fully rounded if you combine them with the academic knowledge and understanding that come from engaging and practising criminology, and therefore the aim is for Parts 2 and 3 to support each other and be used in conjunction.

However, most importantly this book should not be read passively, but should help you ask questions. A common complaint I hear from academic colleagues and tutors (particularly when it comes to students producing written work for assessments) is that students do not analyse, but simply describe, and this often is the basis for students getting low marks. However, I do not think academics always make it clear what they want from students. When you come to study a subject at undergraduate level, you are not just learning about the topic, the facts, dates, key names and developments as it were that mark out the knowledge contours of the discipline you are studying, because undergraduate study is also intended to develop analytic and critical thinking skills. This means that beyond learning the core facts, you are also being asked to critically consider and appraise the claims made by the theorists, academic ‘experts’, official bodies, journalists and others whose arguments you have encountered, asking yourself if the basis of these claims is sound, and whether they apply or are relevant to the situation you are examining. It is not enough, however, simply to include references to authors and summaries of their criticisms (though showing an engagement with the subject matter and wider reading is important and you must do this). If this is all you do, then you may be demonstrating knowledge and understanding, but you are still being descriptive. It is you who must be critical, basing your judgments, for example, on your own knowledge and observations, and on a balanced reading and overview of what other people have written.

Therefore, if there is one overriding piece of advice I would give to new students it is read a lot, but secondly, always do your reading and research in a critical manner – don’t take everything at face value, and don’t always believe everything you read.

In this book, I have attempted to highlight areas for you to consider, sometimes giving practical advice or making an important point or question for you to reflect upon. These features are intended to stimulate you and cause you to question the assertions and arguments that criminologists make; and therefore to help you develop ‘critical thinking’. However, with that point in mind it is worth reiterating that it is not just the essential study skills and theoretical knowledge that are required to pass a criminology course, your hard work is undeniably the most important component.

1.4 CRIMINOLOGY ESSENTIALS: THINKING LIKE A CRIMINOLOGIST

Before we go any further, I want to begin with a consideration of criminology as an academic discipline. More specifically, ask yourself the question, ‘what is meant by the term criminology?’ It is a good question, and it has to be said that there is not a single accepted point of view in answer to it. As an area of academic study, criminology is an emerging discipline (there is no consensus about its origin). However, it developed into a separate academic subject from the early to mid-twentieth century.

Criminology is often held to be the scientific study of crime (though not all criminologists support such claims to scientific status – see below). As a subject, criminology tends to look at issues such as the nature, causes, extent and control of criminal behaviour, both individually and as encountered in society more generally. As an academic subject, criminology is interdisciplinary, drawing especially upon a range of subjects, most notably sociology (particularly what has been called the sociology of deviance), psychology and psychiatry, legal studies and law, economics and political studies.

Yet many people have views and opinions on crime. Indeed it can seem that crime is always in the news, and how to control it is a matter of intense political and public debate. Even so, many people are not well informed about crime and justice. The issues are complex – whether measuring crime or dealing with its reality, issues are often far from simple. Many crimes go unreported and unrecorded, and keeping track of people’s ‘criminal careers’ or criminal behaviour is difficult, by virtue of the obvious fact that crime is very often a covert activity. Finding out what works in reducing crime – and what doesn’t – requires careful and thorough research, and is often contradictory to what people believe, as is the reality of much crime.

Commonsense approaches do not always hold merit. For example, many people suggest that long custodial sentences should be given to criminals because they have a deterrent effect on those who are likely to commit offences, as well as on the offenders themselves. However, criminologists have shown that for potential offenders, it is the increased likelihood of being caught and convicted that has the greater impact on crime rates. This is but one example of how the reality as borne out in empirical research might counter the intuitive, commonsense position that many people adopt.

Any balanced strategy to control crime needs to be underpinned by a proper understanding of the underlying social, cultural and economic causes of crime (making the case for social sciences). Yet one concept missing from the above list is politics, and today, crime is inherently and almost necessarily a political issue. When I encourage students to think about crime, somewhat mantra-like, I recite one of my favourite sound-bites: ‘crime does not take place in a void, but in a context that is always influenced by social, economic, cultural and political factors’. It is appreciating that context, and what it is at any given moment, or historically, that is core to beginning to ‘think like a criminologist’ and move from everyday conversations about crime to a position more in keeping with the social sciences.

Areas of research in criminology are diverse, but can be said to include the incidence, types, causes and consequences of crime, as well as social and governmental policy and regulation, social control practices and reaction to crime. Some academics suggest the term criminology was first used by French anthropologist Paul Topinard in 1879; others suggest it was properly coined in 1885, by Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo, as criminologia.

What is criminology?

Criminologists are interested in crime and the way in which societies deal with crime. However, many people will comment on crime and criminals, and have opinions on the way in which criminals are or should be treated.

Criminology therefore can be regarded as involving a more ‘academic’ consideration of crime.

Some academics believe that criminology should seek to be ‘scientific’ or ‘empirically grounded’ (meaning based upon fact, observation or experience rather than upon a theory alone).

Whether criminology is a science in its own right is contested; whilst some academics have suggested that criminology is the ‘scientific’ study of crime, not all criminologists would support that view.

Criminology is a multi-disciplinary subject.

Criminology contains arguments derived from philosophy, psychology, sociology, medicine, law, architecture, geography and biology, to name but a few.

Some academics believe that criminology is set apart from other subjects such as sociology because it is concerned only with ‘criminal’ conduct that is prohibited by law. For example, David Garland (2002) has argued that criminology is detached from moral and legal arguments and sociological studies that are concerned with ‘deviance’ because it is concerned with crime, although his view is not always accept...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Author
• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: Core Areas of the Curriculum
• Part 3: Study, Writing and Revision Skills
• Part 4
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index