CRM 101 Lecture 1: Intro to Criminology
22 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
Criminology: scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behaviour. Criminal behaviour is behaviour in violation of the criminal law. Behaviour is not a crime unless it is prohibited by the criminal law. Laws are usually defined conventionally as a body of specific rules. Laws are enforced by punishment administered by the state regarding human conduct. Crime: a violation of societal rules of behaviour as interpreted by a legal criminal code created by people holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these laws are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status. Deviant behaviours: behaviours that violate the social norms. Should all deviations from social norms be criminal? i. e. marijuana use, Beliefs about the deviant nature of certain stigmas will change prostitution? overtime. Hagan tried to trace connection between deviance and severity of societal response.
