You will also study how criminologists measure the actual amount of crime in American society. Sociologists disagree over how much crime there is, and how they should measure its frequency. This issue is particularly salient in the development of programs to reduce crime. Without accurate information about the amount and range of criminal behaviors, it is difficult to develop effective programs. In addition to studying how crime is measured, you will learn how criminologists develop and empirically assess theories of crime.
Criminological theories point to a broad array of factors associated with criminal behavior.
These range from structural conditions of communities such as unemployment and poverty to cultural differences in the norms and values of various populations. Because different theories suggest different crime-control strategies, your knowledge of a variety of theories will be essential to your understanding of how policy makers develop effective strategies for preventing, controlling and reducing crime. A second and more important goal is to help you develop an informed understanding of the complexity of issues surrounding crime. Because there are no facile solutions to these issues, I will offer none. The course will, however, help you form opinions about remedies to our crime problem that are consistent with current sociological knowledge about crime and criminal behavior.