These are all questions that have been asked by criminologists, and questions that we shall explore in this course.
Criminologists seek to understand and explain criminal behavior.
Criminologists also seek to predict when, where, and by whom crime might occur, and attempt to design strategies, punishments, and policies that might reduce its occurrence. Theories of Crime and Deviance is an introductory survey course of theoretical criminology. Its aim is to introduce you to a wide variety of perspectives into the complex phenomenon of deviance, crime, and crime prevention, and to give you theoretical tools that you can use in your advanced studies. The course is organized historically, as an exploration of how criminal and deviant behavior has been understood in the Western world from the eighteenth century to the present. We shall look at explanations of many different kinds of deviance, with an emphasis on theories of juvenile delinquency and gangs.