Criminology focuses on the broadest social aspects of crime: what makes people commit crimes, what social policies and programs can prevent or minimize criminal activity, and what forms of punishment are effective in preventing repeat crimes? Criminal Justice, on the other hand, focuses on the more immediate aspects of criminal activity: police work to prevent, investigate and solve crimes; administration of correctional programs from jails and prisons to probation and parole ; running jails and prisons; providing security in courts, other public buildings, public events, and the like; and so on.
The difference between Criminology and Criminal Justice is clear at a theoretical level, but the two fields are closely related—both obviously deal with the broad subject of crime. Course work in Criminology always includes the history and general principles of criminology, along with an array of courses that focus on inter-disciplinary fundamentals, like economics, psychology, sociology and the law.
Students also study of the analytical tools used in the field statistical analysis, research methods, etc. Some combination of the following specific issues will be either required or offered as electives:. Beyond the obvious careers of teaching in the criminology field, criminologists may work as analysts, policy advisers or profilers in a variety of government agencies law enforcement and otherwise , non-profit advocacy agencies, or in their own private practice consulting business.
Towson University. Search Search. Go Back. Why Study Sociology? It traces its roots to Marxist theories that saw crime as ultimately a product of conflict between different classes under the system of capitalism. Criminology conflict theory suggests that the laws of society emerge out of conflict rather than out of consensus.
It holds that laws are made by the group that is in power, to control those who are not in power. Conflict theorists propose, as do other theorists, that those who commit crimes are not fundamentally different from the rest of the population.
They call the idea that society may be clearly divided into criminals and noncriminals a dualistic fallacy, or a misguided notion. These theorists maintain, instead, that the determination of whether someone is a criminal or not often depends on the way society reacts to those who deviate from accepted norms. Many conflict theorists and others argue that minorities and poor people are more quickly labeled as criminals than are members of the majority and wealthy individuals.
Critical criminology, also called radical criminology, shares with conflict criminology a debt to Marxism. It came into prominence in the early s and attempted to explain contemporary social upheavals.
Critical criminology relies on economic explanations of behavior and argues that economic and social inequalities cause criminal behavior. It focuses less on the study of individual criminals, and advances the belief that existing crime cannot be eliminated within the capitalist system. It also asserts, like the conflict school, that law has an inherent bias in favor of the upper or ruling class, and that the state and its legal system exist to advance the interests of the ruling class.
Through medical, psychological, behavioral and often vocational services, the offender is ultimately "graduated" out of their sentence without the addition of a permanent criminal record to further complicate their lives. Studies to date have shown that this method can often achieve greater positive results for individuals, their families and society at a much lower cost than incarceration or standard probationary sentencing.
Hi Rose,. I'm not going to "just throw the answer out there", but if you understand the definition of sociology then you may be be able to see the connection to criminal justice and how it impacts the criminal justice system. The primary relationship has to do with human behavior I gave you the answer in my response, but I require students to learn rather than "just give you an answer". Ask a question for free Get a free answer to a quick problem.
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