Criminology %26 Victimology W1

Analysis of Criminology
Jacey M. Shoemaker
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University
JUS-212: Criminal Behavior and Victimology
Derrick Jones
September 19, 2021

Analysis of Criminology
A Criminologist is a person who dedicates their professional career to the study of
crime. There are several different aspects of the study of crime, each addressing a
different area. The study of Criminal Statistics, or measuring crime is vitally important in
the collection, interpretation and dissemination of criminally related statistics that inform
all other aspects of Criminology. Socio-legal Criminology is the study of crime in
relation to social, cultural, political, and legal standings within our country. An example
of this would be studying the affect of rising intolerance of racism and segregation in
culture in the 1950’s in America on court rulings that began the desegregation of
society. Another important avenue of study is Theory Construction and Testing. In this
area, the scientific method is used to form a hypothesis about crime and its interaction
with society and then verify or disprove the hypothesis through empirical research
methods. Criminal Behavior Systems and Crime Topology is the study of patterns.
Researchers study patterns of connections between criminals and acts of crime and
analyze the information to draw factually based conclusions about what might precipitate
a crime, predisposition of crime in criminals, recidivism and other specific areas of study.
An area of Criminology that is particularly interesting is the study of Penology and Social
Control, in which the Criminologist would study the effect of crime control and offender
rehabilitation. The information gathered and processed in this area of study is immensely
important in informing how criminals can be effectively deterred from reoffending.
Lastly, Victimology is the study of victims of crime. Criminologists who study

Victimology attempt to answer two questions, how and why. Finding patterns in how a
person becomes a victim or how the crime is carried out upon the victim helps to inform
the general public in safety measures and protection. Finding patterns in why a crime
was committed can inform the treatment of potential criminals and the prevention of
crime by law enforcement officers.
In each of these areas of study there is some aspect of gathering information and
measuring it. How crime is measured varies dependent upon what information is being
sought. Sampling, “refers to the process of selecting for study a limited number of
subjects who are representative of entire groups sharing similar characteristics(Siegel
2018). The Criminologist would choose a smaller group of people who can accurately
represent the larger group, meaning that they would represent the same characteristics of
the larger group, and would use the data from the small group to infer data for the larger
group. A Cross-sectional Survey can be used to measure societal interaction with crime.
The survey would include members from all groups of society, ranging in age, gender,
race, class, and many other criteria. The survey is carried out of a very short amount of
time, as close to simultaneous as can be managed, to ensure its accuracy. A more
interactive method of survey is to perform a Self-report Survey. In which you ask
participants to divulge their own criminal behavior. Each of these methods of
measurement have their own unique problems, and are only valid if conducted in a
consistent manner with a strict sense of integrity.
The measurement of crime is used for the betterment of society in several ways. A
common use that everyone interacts with is predictive policing. Past crime is evaluated
and mapped out geographically. Areas of consistent high crime in the past can be
assumed to consistently have high crime in the future, and so the police redirect their
resources more heavily to these areas in the hopes of not only catching criminals as
crimes happen but to deter crime by being present. Geographical crime reports also
affect the housing market, property taxes, and property value. Data collected on gun
violence can be used to inform lawmakers on what laws are affective and what laws need
revision in order to be affective. Gun violence data can also be used to inform social
outreach programs by identifying endangered populations. Firearm violence claims the
lives of nearly five thousand youth ages ten to 25 each year (CDC 2021). Discovering
why this happens, and what risk factors there are amongst young people that make them
more likely to interact with gun violence is the first step to decreasing the astonishing
number of deaths. The study done by Burdslee, Docherty, Mulvey, and Pardini (Burdslee
2021) is one example of that first step. In the study, The Direct and Indirect Associations
between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun Violence, a cohort
of over five hundred boys from various racial back ground was interview from the age of
seven until twenty. The study looked for patterns in socioeconomic factors,which led to
evidence that poverty ridden children were more prone to violent peer exposure, family
violence, and long histories of delinquent behavior at school which contributed to the
exposure to gun violence. This information can now be used to help inform early
intervention for impoverished children in order to decrease their exposure to gun
violence. If this information were not reported correctly, funding could be moved to the
wrong place and exposure to gun violence amongst adolescents may continue to rise.
Resources:
Beardslee, J., Docherty, M., Mulvey, E., & Pardini, D. (2021). The Direct and Indirect
Associations between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun
Violence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 50(3), 26-336. https://doi-
org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1644646
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Web-based injury statistics query
and reporting system. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/injuries/wiseacres.html
Siegel, L. J. (2018). Criminology: Theories, patterns, and typologies (13th Ed.). Belmont,
CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN-13: 9681337091848, 3-
60. HTTPS://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/centage/2018/criminology-theories-
patterns-and-typologies_13e.php

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Analysis of Criminology

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University

JUS-212: Criminal Behavior and Victimology

September 19, 2021

A Criminologist is a person who dedicates their professional career to the study of

all other aspects of Criminology. Socio-legal Criminology is the study of crime in

important in informing how criminals can be effectively deterred from reoffending.

Lastly, Victimology is the study of victims of crime. Criminologists who study

crime by law enforcement officers.

subjects who are representative of entire groups sharing similar characteristics(Siegel

time, as close to simultaneous as can be managed, to ensure its accuracy. A more

interactive method of survey is to perform a Self-report Survey. In which you ask

participants to divulge their own criminal behavior. Each of these methods of

consistent manner with a strict sense of integrity.

outreach programs by identifying endangered populations. Firearm violence claims the

between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun Violence, a cohort

intervention for impoverished children in order to decrease their exposure to gun

Associations between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun

and reporting system. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/injuries/wiseacres.html

CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN-13: 9681337091848, 3-

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