The Role And Function Of The Criminal Justice Administration, Political And Social Context Of Criminal Justice Agencies, And Research Methods Used In Criminology

The meaning of criminology

Criminology is a complex set of a topic that is related to the criminal activities that take place within society. The criminology is considered an essential part of the sociology, and the researchers of criminology always see this fact from a wide range of issues and events. This topic has been studied all over the world for different reasons. However, it is the responsibility of the criminologists to deal with the problems with the positive viewpoints indeed. Thee criminologists always look after a wide range of topics related to the crime. 

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They have to discuss and find out the main reasons for crime as well as the social impact of the crimes. Recently criminology has been regarded as a branch of science to provide better research options indeed. The purpose of the essay is to develop the idea about criminology and the role of the criminologists to solve the different issues. One must ask the question how criminology can have a profound impact on the society. In this essay, several key terms associated with the criminology will be discussed and its effect on the community will be highlighted as well. The scope for the research regarding criminology is vast in the current times.

Criminology has been regarded as a topic that is studied and researched all over the world for a various number of reasons. Especially as the crimes are regularly increasing it has become quite important for the people to understand the causes of the crimes. This is why it is the criminologists who have come forward to understand and develop the reasons for the crime. At first, it should be clarified that the term criminology has derived from the Latin term ‘crimen’. The meaning of the term crimen is an accusation or alleging someone who has done something terrible or something unethical or something, i.e. very much harmful for the society. This means the study of crime. 

 The primary purpose of studying criminology or researching about it is to find out the main reasons for the crime in society. The main aim lies in the fact that the criminologists should find out the ways how the criminal activities can be stopped within the community for the overall betterment of the society. However, it is not at all an easy thing to do since the action of the Government is also very much relevant in this context. The practical steps should be taken to find out the ways of how human activities can be taken before taking the legislative actions. Several criminologists have developed several ideas within the discipline. This is why it has become quite important for several organizations for the betterment of the scenario. The issue should be approached in a better manner for the development of the case. There are several fields of study that can be associated with the study of criminology. These different fields are psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, economics, and statistics. 

There are some of the sub-sections that could be associated with the criminology. These are penology, bio-criminology, feminist criminology, and criminalistics — the classical school of criminology that is very significant regarding the several schools of criminology. The impact of criminology will be the first section of the discussion because it has been associated with the well being of the ordinary people within society. According to some of the critics, many prisons in the current times all over the world are running by the ‘eye-for-an-eye’ idea or Christian principle that says the offender should be sent to hell. Crime has always been considered as a fascination for the fear among the minds of the men. This is why most people are very much afraid about the disasters that the criminal activities might bring to the ordinary people. However, the treatment of criminals has always been a significant thing in society.

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Impact of crimes on society

The legislation of some countries has solicited for the ultimate punishment for the offenders. On the other hand, some people have not been able to be so harsh to the offenders despite their offenses. The common-sense regarding the committing of crime should be treated in several ways indeed. The moral perspectives regarding criminal law are very much significant as well. Some authors have opined that the mass media has often distorted the illegal activities profoundly as well. However, the criminal law is often related to the different cultures and the moral perspectives as well. Generally, the criminal laws often deal with several crimes but not all. All the offenders are not taken under this matter indeed. Sometimes the dangerous and harmful activities will surely bring upon the fatalities in the society. Some of the criminological theories will also be very much important for the betterment of the situation.

Secondly, the impact of the crimes within the society can be considered as an essential matter for the harms that are caused to the community indeed. It is the duty of the sociologists and the criminologists to find out the perfect reason for this kind of action by the offenders. The issue with the crime is not only regarding the culture of some individual. Many people are of the opinion that dealing with the crimes is just a bread and butter game for them since they will be able to escape the legal restrictions without any difficulty. However, this should not be the case at all. Many theories have been conceived within the sociological context as to how the criminology and common sense can be deemed with the interrelation. The victims of crime have suffered serious issues to live within the society and periphery. The community has suffered in various ways due to the criminal activities. The damage of public property has been one of the most critical issues that have been rampant in current times. The violent crimes have often led to severe physical injuries indeed.

According to the critics, the criminal activities are very much significant in the present society, and it has become an integral part. The effects of the illegal activities have always touched the lives of all the people within the community. It can be assumed that some results are generally, but some of them will last for a lifetime. The medical costs of the victims will also be an essential fact as the negative impacts of the criminology. The social media has been mostly responsible for the depiction of the crime to the ordinary people since the familiar people do not believe in the violence. 

Thirdly, the challenges have been found in the criminology and common sense of crime indeed. Several social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, have already described various ways by which the crime and victimization can be appropriately understood indeed. In previous times, people used to think whatever had been shown in the media. As only some people have faced criminal violence in the society the rest of the people would just believe in the things told by the news sources and the social media platforms. The criminologists have often taken some help from some of the social media platforms for understanding the mentality of these criminal offenders. The police and legal advisors have often communicated with the people in real time that will help them to advance in these situations. The ordinary people would be able to know about the real time events and incidents for their information only. The social media has also become a significant source for the investigations done by the police forces.

Challenges faced in Criminology

The police forces have got unlimited access to communicate with the common public about the events going on around the cities and countries. However, the challenges have been recorded in this scenario as well. The criminology has been facing rapid changes in the current times. The critics have highlighted the fact that the crime rates have been rising and this has become quite a big issue in the society as well. The increasing rates of crime, crime policies, and other issues have been so much intriguing in this context. The economic, political and social issues are quite intricate in the current times. The organized crime has become quite a favorite thing, and the preventions to this are yet to be found. The mobilization of the community is indeed a very dominating factor. The various aspects of doing criminology should be evaluated critically and it must acquire a digital specialism.

Before beginning this segment, it must be said that the functions of the criminologists are very much complicated and intriguing. The criminal justice system of different countries revolves around how the criminologists are performing their duties and responsibilities. The criminologists are mainly the trained social and behavioral scientists. There is a fundamental difference between the academic criminologists and the forensic criminologists. The academic criminologists often show their skills in the practical and applied settings regularly. On the other hand, forensic criminologists often deal with the possible events of crime within society. The several psychologists, mental health professionals, and the social workers often go on to take sessions with these violent criminals and ask them the reasons for doing such activities. 

Mental counseling is also very much necessary for these criminals. As the crime is considered as a social evil, it is indeed crucial for the mental health professionals to work on this. If they are able to provide a good opportunity for the new life of these people, it will be helpful for them. The criminologists often face several difficult situations when they face the ethical dilemmas within their work. The criminologists are also liable for doing the legal research on how to improve the situation. The applied settings will help the criminologists to understand how they will be able to cope up with the difficulties. 

 The criminologists have to play different roles in different ways. They have to be the reviewers, the educators, the researchers, and the reformers. In other words, the critics have stated that the criminologists must possess the essential skills for teaching the criminals that the things they do are not ethically right. They must summarize a wide range of data for understanding the things at hand. The practice of the criminologists can improve the social status. They can work in the different legal settings, and this will help them to change the social scenario indeed. The criminologists will operate according to the legal systems and sociological ethics being combined. The criminologists should be liable for defining the crime in different cultures and the subcultures. The criminologists would differentiate the way these different cultures and the subcultures have defined the crime and take the proper actions in this regard. The way they deal with these criminals will also be reflected in the practice of the criminologists.

Conclusion

As per the above discussion, the paper can be concluded by saying that the topic of criminology has been taken as a very significant one in the current times since the rate of criminal activities. The role of the criminologists is very complicated but it is beneficial for the well being of society and maintaining the best sociological status. The various aspects of criminology have sometimes clashed with the common sense of the people as well. It has to be mentioned that the significant role of the criminologists is to prevent the criminals from committing criminal activities and convincing them to get mixed with mainstream society.  

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