Foundations of Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Crime Patterns (Chapters 1–9)

Notes

🔑 CHAPTER 1: Basics of Criminology Criminology vs Criminal Justice vs Criminalistics ● ● ● Criminology = WHY crime happens (theories) Criminal Justice System = police, courts, prisons Criminalistics = forensic science (evidence, DNA) Crime vs Deviance ● ● Crime = breaks the law Deviance = breaks social norms (not always illegal) Mala in se vs Mala prohibita ● ● Mala in se = “evil in itself” (murder, rape) Mala prohibita = illegal because laws say so (jaywalking) Over vs Under criminalization ● ● Over = too many laws Under = not enough laws for harmful acts Manifest vs Latent functions ● ● Manifest = intended (prison punishes crime) Latent = unintended (prison creates more criminals) Models of society ● ● Consensus model = laws reflect everyone’s values Conflict model = laws benefit powerful groups Émile Durkheim ● Crime is normal and even useful (creates social change) 🔑 CHAPTER 2: Research Methods Objectivity ● No bias Operationalization ● Turning ideas into measurable things (ex: “crime” → number of arrests) Dark figure of crime ● Crimes that go unreported UCR vs NIBRS ● ● UCR = basic crime data NIBRS = more detailed Hierarchy rule ● Only the most serious crime is counted Surve...