criminology

Introduction
Historical development
Methods
- Descriptive statistics
- Case studies
- Typologies
- Experimental methods
- Prediction studies
- Action research
- Cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural approaches
Major concepts and theories
- Biological theories
- Psychological theories
- Sociological theories
- A non-Western view: China
Trends

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At a Glance

criminology summary

Related Questions

How are impulsivity and immediate gratification associated with criminal behavior?
How can alcohol use, lead exposure, and head injuries be associated with criminal behavior?
How can changes in police enforcement affect recorded crime rates?
How can neighborhood instability contribute to higher crime rates according to ecological theories?
How can neurotransmitter and hormonal imbalances be associated with increased criminality?
How can prenatal care, home visits, and preschool programs help reduce later delinquency?
How did Adolphe Quetelet use crime statistics to study patterns in offending?
How did Cesare Lombroso attempt to explain criminal behavior?
How did Jeremy Bentham influence the classical school of criminology?
How did Sigmund Freud's ideas about the id, ego, and superego influence psychological theories of crime?
How did criminological research influence community policing and sentencing policies?
How did humanitarian reform movements contribute to the development of criminology in the late 1700s?
How did the neoclassical school change ideas about punishment for children and people with mental illness?
How did the positive school of criminology differ from the classical school?
How did victimology shift from blaming victims to studying victims' needs and rights?
How do criminal subculture theories explain delinquent gang behavior?
How do criminologists explain differences in crime rates between societies?
How do family attachment and conventional activities affect control theory?
How do news reports about serious crimes affect public perceptions of crime?
How do parental child-rearing practices relate to low self-control theory?
How do radical criminological theories link crime and criminal justice to capitalism?
How do self-report surveys add to official crime statistics?
How do social-structural-strain theories explain theft for financial gain?
How do the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and victim surveys measure crime differently?
How do victimization surveys help criminologists measure crime?
How do victimologists study relationships between victims and offenders?
How does Ronald Akers's social learning theory explain the influence of family, peers, and media?
How does conflict theory explain the influence of wealth and power on criminal law?
How does criminology differ from criminal justice?
How does criminology differ from criminal law?
How does differential association theory explain how criminal behavior is learned?
How does labeling theory explain the effects of being convicted of a crime?
How does neutralization theory explain why some people justify delinquent behavior?
How does restorative justice aim to repair harm caused by crime?
How has criminology been placed in university departments in Europe and the United States?
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Why can official crime statistics give an incomplete picture of crime?
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Why have some sociologists disputed the idea of a delinquent subculture?
Why is individualizing punishment important in modern penology?
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Why is the evidence for Freud's explanation of criminality considered limited?
Why might victims choose not to report crimes to the police?
Why was Cesare Lombroso's theory of the born criminal rejected by social scientists?

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External Websites

SJSU ScholarWorks - The Role of Criminology in the Courtroom (PDF)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Introduction to Criminology - Introduction
Social Sciences LibreTexts - The History and Purpose of Criminology
North Central College - What is Criminology?
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Scholarly Commons - The Historical Development of Criminology
LiveAbout - What is Criminology?
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - International Criminology and International Connectivity: Reflections at a Pivotal Juncture

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

criminology - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

criminology

social science

Written by

Hermann Mannheim

Reader in Criminology, University of London, 1946–55. Author of Comparative Criminology.

Hermann MannheimAll

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

criminology, scientific study of the nonlegal aspects of crime and delinquency, including its causes, correction, and prevention, from the viewpoints of such diverse disciplines as anthropology, biology, psychology and psychiatry, economics, sociology, and statistics. Viewed from a legal perspective, the term crime refers to individual criminal actions (e.g., a burglary) and the societal response to those actions (e.g., a sentence of three years in prison). By comparison, the field of criminology incorporates and examines broader...

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