PLAGIARISM FREE/ PLEASE SEE FILES FOR REFERENCE OF WEEKS 1-3. To better understand criminal behavior, we must also understand the elements of the crimes that are being committed. From this, we can cor
CJS/231 v5
Criminology
Name
CJS/231
| Term | Definition | Example |
| Crime | It is an action or omission against the law or constitution, thus leading to punishment. | For example, failing to stop at a red light can lead to fines and lawsuits. |
| Criminality | They are the behavior or activities that lead to crime against social regulations. Therefore conduct that breaks the laws. | An example is a domestic abuse. |
| Criminal justice | They are the bodies tasked with law enforcement, including the police, judges etc. | For example, when is arrested for illegally driving without a valid license. |
| Deviant behavior | They are the behavior against the regulations and codes of society. Informal deviance includes behavior against social norms, while formal is behavior against rules and regulations | An informal example is standing close to another person or picking the nose. Formal is violence, murder etc. |
Part 2: Research and Theory
Explain what a theory is and the purpose of developing theories in criminal justice.
I theory includes the formal elaboration of a phenomenon and the usage of variables to prove the explanation. Through a theory, one develops numerous ideas seeking to examine something unbiasedly. Additionally, theories may include principles that have been thought cautiously after observing or experimenting with the natural world situations and then introducing hypotheses and facts. (Moeller, 2018). Generally, we can understand more about human behavior and current social norms through the existing theories. In the criminal justice system, theories are used to determine how a crime occurs and how it can be addressed and prevented in future; that is why they are transformative and restorative theories. Through restorative theory, we understand how to deter people from committing a crime and restore order. For example, jail terms, fines and lawsuits are used in the process. At the same time, transformative seeks to develop corrective models in addressing crime within society. However, the criminal justice system sets examples for society with the current offenders through strict punishments, fines and jail terms. However, there are rehabilitative programs geared towards changing the current environment of the offender and preventing crime from occurring in future.
Describe the role research plays in theory building in criminology.
Research is a systematic and scientific process that seeks to explain, predict and control phenomena. Generally, within the criminology field, the research is essential to understand why different crimes occur based on behavior and develop relevant measures to prevent such crimes from occurring in future. Therefore the research questions the behavior and validates various explanations. (King & Wincup 2008). Additionally, we can understand different criminal conducts in society through research since it involves continuous data collection and analysis to gain insights and relationships between crime and occurrences in society. Therefore the analysis is a significant step in the research process to help in decision-making and conclusion regarding the nature of the crime. Controlled experiments are also conducted to give criminology precedence on why different reasoning and crime occur. Therefore through research, behavior and guides are developed to characterize the current phenomenon. Finally, the research plays an essential role in building criminology through discovering new ideas and understanding why negative behavior occurs in society leading to crime. Generally, the research is essential to deeply understand the situation with the society and understand motivations that lead to negative behavior observed.
Explain how criminological research affects social policy.
Through research and development, we generate new ideas and policies that would not have been noted without proper analysis of data. Additionally, it ensures there is a progressive and diverse promotion of justice. The research is normally performed by independent scholars, media personalities etc., for the development of new ideas, restoring justice and public pressure. (Wincup, 2017). Therefore the results of a research process are normally used when developing a new policy or updating the existing policies to ensure justice within society. Therefore the research normally collects data and analyzes it to develop various recommendations for promoting security when developing new policies. For example, cybercrime is currently a new field that was previously underestimated, and few policies have been formulated. However, through research, new policies were created seeking to protect customers’ data, privacy and sharing of information without consent. Therefore if research was not done, it would have been difficult to understand the impacts of cybercrimes on privacy breaches. Generally, the research helps to provide policymakers with different viewpoints they should consider during the formulation of new programs. This ensures there is better protection of society while protecting the conventional norms.
References
Wincup, E. (2017). Criminological research: Understanding qualitative methods. Sage. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9s0qDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=criminological+research+affects+social+policy&ots=TizPnDQYwv&sig=eTU74RqcCqAt2CuIInGXDCJMtWc
King, R. D., & Wincup, E. (2008). The process of criminological research. Doing research on crime and justice, 2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Il2GbeyQb5gC&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=criminological+research+affects+social+policy&ots=F9ZekU6edp&sig=eHWC0mdGZbH13wWocOVjFmuyeIc
Moeller, K. (2018). Drug market criminology: Combining economic and criminological research on illicit drug markets. International Criminal Justice Review, 28(3), 191-205. https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/hj6x23t6/download/pdf
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