Simply put, criminology is the study of crime. Criminologists therefore conduct researches in order uncover information that will help them understand the reason behind the crimes and ways through which such crimes can be averted in the future. On the other hand, criminal justice deals with the formation and enforcement of law, as well as the systematic process of punishing criminals. Therefore, in simpler terms, criminal justice studies in depth the various stages of the justice system including its legislation, enforcement, punishment process, response to victims and how this entire process affects crime.
Being the study of crime, criminology has a direct relationship with the study of deviance. The study of deviance focusses on behavior which despite being legal or illegal, go against the socially accepted code of conduct. In most cases the behavior found to be deviant but legal are usually indicators or predecessors of illegal behavior, for example alcoholism and some forms of mental disorders, hence the overlapping with criminology. In addition to this, the fact that criminal behavior is deviant behavior qualifies criminology as a branch in the study of deviance behavior, further explaining their overlapping nature.
The consensus view of crime holds that the society is governed by the same principles and members of the society are supposed to uphold these principles that govern them. Therefore, criminal actions are illegal since they disregard these principles and ultimately affect negatively the society. The conflict view, on the other hand, maintains that interpersonal conflict is what is responsible for shaping human behavior. In addition to this, the view states that persons in power in the society are likely to use this power for their own selfish interests. Lastly, the interactionist view dictates that a person is predisposed to interpret an action or event based on their view of how other people respond to the same action or event.
Among the ethical issues facing criminologists when conducting criminology research include the issues of plagiarism, data fabrication and confidentiality. By definition, data fabrication refers to the act of intentionally cooking up or interpreting the data in a report to support the findings of the research. Plagiarism is the act of taking another researchers work and presenting the same work as your own. Lastly, confidentiality in regard to research ethics refers to securing the work in general. Such ethical issues are important as they assist in the observation of social and moral values, the rights of human beings and the laws of the land.
High-risk lifestyle is often characterized by substance abuse, stress, lack of sufficient sleep and risky sexual behavior. These characteristics lead to victimization, according to the lifestyle exposure theory, as they predispose the person to possibility of committing crimes.
The two victimization theories, routine activity theory and the lifestyle exposure theory, have almost similar concepts. For instance, both theories suggest that social conditions such as poverty hardly influence the prevalence of crime. Also, both theories cite the way of life of a person, in particular their activities and lifestyle choices as the main factor that determines their likely hood of committing crime. In both, the lack of guidance is what causes the routine activities and choices of lifestyle, ultimately leading to criminal activity. Lastly, the surroundings of the offender, including the people they frequently interact with determine their likelihood of committing a crime. The three predictions used by both theories are the likely offender, suitable target and the absence of a guardian.
Originated by Cornish and Clarke, the rational choice theory attempts to explain situational crime in the hopes of preventing it. The theory holds that man is a reasoning actor that considers both the costs and benefits of an action before engaging in the action. The main assumptions of the theory therefore include individualism and the need to achieve selfish interests, the rationality behind such reasoning and the fact that the responsibility of maintaining law and order falls on the state.
Based on the rational choice theory, violence is a choice resulting from calculations based on the reasoning of the actor in their quest to achieving their own personal needs. I agree with this point of view as criminals do in fact use violence as a means to their ends.
Therefore the major goal of violence is to achieve the offender’s mission of self-interest maximization at the expense of the victim. Violence is used as a threat for coercion or to assist the offender to control the victim.
In my opinion, the fear of apprehension and punishment fails to deter crime due to a number of reasons. First, the selfish interests of offenders overweigh their fear of apprehension and subsequent incarceration. Secondly, for hardcore criminals, serving time in the penitentiary has become more of a rite of passage hence their embrace of the punishment as opposed the punishment deterring crime. Lastly, criminals usually fear being apprehended and punished, but in most cases believe that their likelihood of being caught in the first time is very minimal, hence its failure to deter crime.