How Criminology and Sociology Help Catch Criminals

I would like to begin the discussion by giving a brief history of both sociology and criminology. Sociology "is the social science which studies human behavior. Sociology seeks to understand patterns of behavior within society, and how culture and social institutions shape human behavior" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785206). Social science fields include anthropology, economics and political science to name a few. Understanding and defining criminology is much more complicated than that of sociology. Although I found numerous definitions of criminology, the one I am about to give seems to cover a better range of aspects than others. Criminology "is (1) the scientific study of human behavior, that is infractions of the law, especially criminal law. Criminology is the study of the causes, nature and distribution of crime in society; (2) the study of the physical, psychological and social characteristics of criminals; (3) the study if the victims of crime and their interactions with criminals" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/147870).

Many disciplines are involved in criminology including psychology, sociology, psychiatry, anthropology, biology, neurology, political science and economics. I would also like to give a definition of penology, which you may be able to use for future reference. "Penology (pain/suffering) is the study of repressing criminal activity in a society" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785699). Penology studies the policy of inflicting punishment for wrongdoing, bases for punishment and society's motives behind it, and studies penal laws throughout history. "The Twentieth and Twenty-first century penology incorporates psychiatrists or psychologists and incorporates mental studies of the criminal into a diagnosis" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785699). As you can see penology is intertwined with both sociology and criminology.

Now that a basic understanding of both sociology and criminology has been established, I would like to begin a discussion on the relationship between the two fields. As well as how they compliment each other in seeking to explain criminal behavior. Sociological criminology has three major subdivisions: social structure, social process and critical theories. Social structural perspectives explain crime in terms of factors outside the individual that are part of the broad social environment or social forces. Examples include poverty, low-income housing, low education, and status frustration. Social process theories argue that crime is a result of social-psychological processes that arise from social interaction. Learning and social control are two contributing theories. Examples of social processes include conformity and the association between individuals and their affects.

Critical theories "do not look at why individuals commit crimes but ask how and why dominant and powerful members of society produce definitions of crime and criminals and how these affect criminal behavior" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785206). The bases for critical theories are all within social inequality. They have to do with money, status and power. Critical theories stress that lawmaking, lawbreaking, and reactions toward breaking laws are a reflection of how the most powerful groups in a society control all three processes to keep their dominant position. Conflict theories also include the idea that conflicts between groups are a consequence of economic inequality. Lastly, conflict theories also include the idea that crimes may be a result of either a revolution against the "capitalists" or a response to the suffering brought on by economic inequality.

It is obvious to see that the relationship between sociology and criminology is very strong. As a matter of fact, "sociology is criminology's mother discipline" (www.xreferplus.com/entry/4827548). You can not have criminology without sociology. The study of criminals relies heavily upon their social influences and social factors. Sociological criminology studies how low-income housing, poverty, age, race, learning, social interactions, conformity, status, power, education or lack of, capitalists, and social control affects individuals. Once again, the relationship between sociology and criminology is greatly intertwined.

Heather Zarka

Reference List:

Criminology. World of Criminal Justice, Gale (2002). Retrieved 17 July 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/4827548

Criminology. World of Sociology, Gale (2001). Retrieved 17 July 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785206

Criminology. Penguin Dictionary of Sociology (1994). Retrieved 16 July 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/104962

Sociology. Collins Dictionary of Sociology (2000). Retrieved 16 July 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/1417870

Penology. World of Sociology, Gale (2001). Retrieved 16 July 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/4785699