Introduction

Welcome to the course! This is Criminology, the scientific study of crime causation.

A Criminologist is an extremely nuanced profession. It isn’t just about researching crime causation (it is, but it isn’t). We as Criminologists have to be experienced in a multitude of subject matters: Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Biological Science, Religion, Urban Studies, Social Work, Law, etc. etc. etc. This is because much of what goes into peeling back the layers of criminal behavior has to do with a lot of everything that happens to us and around us that makes us who we are and how we interact with not just our own inner struggles of right and wrong, but also with those external forces that contribute to our micro and macro-social interactions.

So when we research a specific trend in crime, we are not just looking for one specific answer as to how or why, we are looking for EVERY answer. We need to understand the entire story behind the act of deviant behavior before we can make a recommendation on a policy shift that could potentially affect a diverse population equitably. It isn’t an easy thing to do, but that’s why we do the research.

The problem is: We are emotional. And it is extremely hard to separate our emotional experiences from empirical fact. Criminologists have to be able to look at a situation and separate the emotion from the what the data is saying. The goal of this course is to give you the knowledge to understand criminal behavior and causation through an objective lense, and reconcile your emotions with what research and data analyses are saying regarding specific occurrences of crime. The reason for this is so that we can make concise, educated, and reasonable policy recommendations that are fair, equitable, and reconciliatory.