Criminology Nature and Scope

given to the accused for drinking.
If he were guilty or false,

he would at once vomit blood.
Muslim period:
During the Muslim period, based on Quran, Hadith, Ijma, Kiyas,
there were four kinds of punishments:
(i) Qisas or retaliation;
(ii) Diyut or blood money;
(iii) Hadd or punishment which cannot be increased/reduced;
(iv) Tazar and Siyasa or discriminary and exemplary punishment.
British period:
During the British period, codification of law started with the
Charter of 1833 and Penal Code 1860 received the assent of the
Governor General on 6th October 1860 and came into force on 1 st
January 1861. The Penal Code, being the general code of criminal
law in the country, covers a variety of offences, such as – murder,
kidnapping, rape, theft, criminal intimidation, cheating, criminal
breach of trust, defamation.
* 1.8 What is Criminology? *
Introduction:
The genesis of the term criminology is from the Latin word

‘crimen’ (crime) and from Greek word ‘logia’ (science), therefore,
criminology is the science, which deals with crime and criminals.
General definition:
Criminology generally means - ‘the scientific study of the nature,
causes, control, extent and prevention of criminal behaviour’.
ϭϴ
Criminology

Nature of Causes/ How to The degree to How to prevent
Criminal reasons control the which criminal the criminal
act
act behind the criminal act act has spread or behaviour
criminal act
Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral

sciences, drawing especially upon the research of sociologists,
psychologists, psychiatrists, social anthropologists, as well as
scholars of law.
The term criminology was coined in 1885 by Italian law professor

Raffaele Garofalo as criminologia. Later, French anthropologist
Paul Topinard used the analogous French term criminologie.
So, easily, we can say that the text, which deals with crime and
provides knowledge about crime & criminal that is criminology.
Scholar’s definition:
Prof. E. H. Sutherland describes criminology as:
“The body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.
It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of
breaking laws and of reacting towards the breaking law”6
According to Mr Taft:
“Criminology is largely for the study of crime and criminals as

defined by law; also the study of ‘near crimes’ and ‘quasi-
criminals’ because they are part of the cause of crime”7
According to Mr Elliott:
“Criminology is a science of crime and its treatment”8

6 Sutherland, E. H. and Cressey, D. R. : ‘Principles of Criminology’, p. 3.
7 Taft, Donald R. : ‘Criminology – A cultural interpretation’, p. 9.
ϭϵ
At present, criminology science glitters as a landmark in the
annals of history taking its fold the following disciplines –
anthropology, biology, psychology, sociology, police science,
political science, economic, divinity, pathology, jurisprudence,
law, psychiatry and so on.
In view of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer “criminology is for the

community and criminologists are the unacknowledged
legislatures of the world”.9
Branches of criminology:
According to Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Cressey, there are three
main branches of criminology:10
(i) Sociology of law;

(ii) Criminal Etiology;
(iii) Penology.
(i) Sociology of law: Criminologist examines and evaluates the

origin, nature, application and modification of penal laws.
(ii) Criminal Etiology: Criminologist try to identity the

relevant/main causes of criminal behaviour.
(iii) Penology: Criminologist explores various mechanisms of

punishing the offenders and penal policies.
* 1.9 Nature & scope of criminology *

The interests of criminologists include the study of nature of
crime and criminals, origins of criminal law, aetiology of crime,
social reactions to crime, and functioning of law-enforcement
agencies and penal institutions. It can be said that broadly

8 Elliot, M. A. : ‘Crime and Modern Society’, p. 9.
9 Krishna Iyer J. : ‘Inaugural Address – Perspective in Criminology’, edited by Mr
Rao, S. V.
10 Sutherland, E. H. and Cressey, D. R. : ‘Principles of Criminology’.
ϮϬ
criminology directs its enquiries along three lines: first, it
investigates the nature of criminal law and its administration
and conditions under which it develops; second, it analyses the
causation of crime and the personality of criminals; and third, it
studies the control of crime and the rehabilitation of offenders.
Therefore, criminology includes within its scope the activities of

legislative bodies, law-enforcement agencies (police), judicial
institutions (courts), correctional institutions (prisons) and
educational, private and public social agencies.
* 1.10 Different theories of Criminology *

As advancements have taken place, new terminologies have been
coined for various criminology theories:
(i) Radical criminology: According to Mr W. J. Chambliss
“Acts are defined as criminal because of the interest of the
ruling class enjoy immunity and subject class are penalized
for violation. Crime diverts attention of the lower class
people from capitalists’ exploitation. Crime is a reaction to
the life condition of person’s social class”.11
(ii) Marxist criminology: According to Mr Taylor, Walton and
Young “Radical criminology views the State and law as
instruments used by the wealthy and powerful to dominate
and exploit the weak. It views traditional criminological
theory as an ally of the wealthy and powerful because it
concentrates on the offenders and assumes that they, rather
than the ‘system’ are the problem”. 12
(iii) Critical criminology: According to Mr Don C. Gibbons,
“Crime, racism, sexism and international exploitation are

11Chambliss, W. J. : ‘Toward a Political Economy of Crime’.
12Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Editor-in-Chief – Kadish, Sanford H. , Vol -
1, p. 349.
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Criminology Nature and Scope

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given to the accused for drinking.

If he were guilty or false,

* 1.8 What is Criminology? *

The genesis of the term criminology is from the Latin word

Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral

The term criminology was coined in 1885 by Italian law professor

“Criminology is largely for the study of crime and criminals as

“Criminology is a science of crime and its treatment”8

In view of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer “criminology is for the

(i) Sociology of law;

(i) Sociology of law: Criminologist examines and evaluates the

(ii) Criminal Etiology: Criminologist try to identity the

(iii) Penology: Criminologist explores various mechanisms of

* 1.9 Nature & scope of criminology *

Therefore, criminology includes within its scope the activities of

* 1.10 Different theories of Criminology *

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