Articles related to criminology and law enforcement.
acquittal – addiction – age of consent – age of criminal responsibility – aging offender – allocute – alloplastic adaptation – American Academy of Forensic Sciences – animal abuse – animus nocendi – anomie theory – answer (law) – anthropometry – antisocial behaviour order – antisocial personality disorder – arson – ASBO – asocial personality – assassination – assault – assault causing bodily harm – assault occasioning actual bodily harm – asset forfeiture – automatism – autoplastic adaptation – autopsy
ballistics – battered child syndrome – battered woman syndrome – battery – behavior theory – Jeremy Bentham – Alphonse Bertillon – binge drinking – biosocial criminology – blackmail – blunt force trauma – bodily harm – body cavity search – born criminal – breaking and entering – British Society of Criminology - Zebulon Reed Brockway – broken windows thesis – burglary
capital punishment – carjacking – case law – causes and correlates of crime – celerity – chain of custody – chemical castration – child abuse – child neglect – child sexual abuse – chronic mentally ill offender – civil law – clandestine abuse – classical school of criminology – closed-circuit television – cohort analysis – community policing – community service – compulsive gambling – computational criminology – computer abuse – computer bulletin board – computer crime – computer forensics – computer-related crime – conflict perspective – consensual crime – consensus model (criminal justice) – conspiracy – constitutive criminology – contact rapist – conviction rate – coroner – corporal punishment – correctional psychology – counterfeiting – CPTED – crime – crime against humanity – crime index – crime mapping – crime of passion – crime rate – crime statistics – criminal anthropology – criminal homicide – criminal insanity – criminal justice – criminal justice system – criminal law – criminal negligence – criminal record – criminal tattoos – criminal threatening – criminalistics – criminalization – criminaloid – criminology – criminology of place – critical criminology – culture conflict – cycle of violence
dangerous drug – dangerousness – date-rape drug – Daubert Standard – death penalty – deconstructionist theories – decriminalization – defense of justification – defensible space – detective – deterrence – deterrence strategy – deviance – differential association – domestic violence – double jeopardy – dramaturgical perspective – drug possession – drug-defined crime – drug-related crime – drunk driving – DUI – Durham rule
ecological theory – elder abuse – embezzlement – enforcement discretion – environmental crime – environmental criminology – espionage – ethnic succession – evidence collection – exile – expert witness – external validity – extortion
family violence – fear of crime – federal inmate – federal interest computer – felony – feminist criminology – fentanyl – Enrico Ferri – Fifth Amendment rights of witnesses – fine – fingerprint – first degree murder – focal concern – forcible rape – forensic accounting – forensic anthropology – forensic ballistics – forensic engineering – forensic entomology – forensic evidence – forensic genetics – forensic odontology – forensic palynology – forensic pathology – forensic psychiatry – forensic psychology – forensic science – forensic toxicology – forgery – Willie Francis – fraud – frustration-aggression theory
gamma hydroxybutyrate – gender-politics model – general deterrence – genocide – geographic profiling – grand jury – grave robbing – grievous bodily harm – guilt – guilty but mentally ill – gun control
habitual offender statute – hacker – harm reduction – hate crime – hedonistic calculus – heroin – home invasion – homelessness – homicide – honour culture – honour killing – house arrest – human cannibalism – human rights – hybrid offence
identity theft – illegal gambling – illegitimate opportunity structure – imprisonment – incapacitation – inchoate offense – indictable offence – individual rights advocate – infraction – in limine – insanity defense – institutionalization – integrated theory of criminology – interactionist perspectives – interdiction – internal validity – international crime (disambiguation) – invisible evidence – irresistible impulse test – isobutyl nitrite
labeling (criminology) – laceration – larceny – larceny-theft – Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) – law enforcement in the United Kingdom – law enforcement in the United States – left realism – legal immunity – libel – life course theories – liquor laws – Locard's exchange principle – Cesare Lombroso – looting – luminol
Jesus Malverde – manslaughter – manslaughter in English law – mass murder – mass surveillance – M'Naghten Rules – MDMA – Meadow's law – media influence theory – medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment – mens rea – methylenedioxymethamphetamine – misdemeanor – modus operandi – Monozygotic twins – moral enterprise – moral entrepreneur – motive – moral panic – Munchausen's syndrome by proxy – murder – murder in English law
narcotic – narcotic abuse theory – narcotrafico – national crime victimization survey – needle exchange – negligent homicide – neoclassical criminology – NIBRS – nurturant strategy
occupational crime – offender profiling – OJJDP – operant behavior – Operation Spanner – opportunity structure – organised crime – organized crime – ostracism
panopticon – paraffin test – participatory justice – peacemaking criminology – penal couple – penile plethysmography – penitentiary – penology – perfect crime – perjury – pharmaceutical diversion – phenobarbital – phenomenological criminology – pimping – piracy – plea bargain – plea of temporary insanity – police – police corruption – police misconduct – police riot – police state – police surgeon – polygraph – Portland Seven – positivism – positivist school of criminology – post-crime victimization – post-mortem examination – postmortem lividity – postal fraud – postmodern criminology – powercontrol theory – Alma Preinkert – primary deviance – primary research – prison – prison cell – prisons in the United States – Prohibition – prosecutor's fallacy – prostitution – protection/avoidance strategy – psychiatric criminology – psychiatric theories of criminology – psychoactive substance – psychoanalytic criminology – psychological profiling – psychological theories – psychopath – Public criminology – Public humiliation - public order crime – punishment – pure research – pyromania
racial profiling – racially motivated crime – racketeering – radical criminology – rape – realist criminology – recidivism – recidivism rate – reciprocal obligation – reintegrative shaming – remand – remorse – replicability – research design – restitution – restraining order – revolving door syndrome – reward – rigor mortis – riot – robbery – rohypnol – routine activities theory
second degree murder – secondary deviance – secondary research – secondary victimization – securities fraud – sentence – serial killer – sex offender – sexual assault – sexual crime – sexual harassment – shaken baby syndrome – shame – shoplifting – simple assault – slander – smuggling – social control – social control theory – social disorganization – social epidemiology – social justice – social ostracism – social policy – sodomy law – somatotyping – specific deterrence – speed (drug) – spousal abuse – spree killing – stalking – starlight tour – statutory law – strain theory – street fighting – street gang – Theodore Streleski – strict liability crimes – subcultural theory – suicide pact – summary conviction – summary offence – supermale – superpredators (disambiguation) – Edwin H. Sutherland
target hardening – tax evasion – techniques of neutralization – terminal ballistics – terrorism – tests of significance – theft – threat analysis – three strikes law – thug life (concept) – torture – total institution – toxicology – trace evidence – transient evidence – transylvanian hypothesis – treason – trespass
uni-causal – uniform crime report – universal jurisdiction – usury – utilitarianism – uxoricide
vandalism – verbal abuse – verstehen – victim impact statement – victim-precipitated homicide – victim-proneness – victim-witness assistance program – victimization rate – victimless crime – victimogenesis – victimology – violence – violent crime – VOCA – voluntary euthanasia – Juan Vucetich
war crime – War on Drugs – weapon possession – white-collar crime – witness intimidation
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term crime does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition, though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state. Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.
Victimology is the study of victimization, including the psychological effects on victims, the relationship between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system—that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials—and the connections between victims and other social groups and institutions, such as the media, businesses, and social movements.
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, assault, rape and assassination, as well as crimes in which violence is used as a method of coercion or show of force, such as robbery, extortion and terrorism. Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may be regarded with varying severities from homicide to harassment.
Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects. It is a subfield of criminology and applied psychology.
In the United States, the relationship between race and crime has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century. Crime rates vary significantly between racial groups; however, academic research indicates that the over-representation of some racial minorities in the criminal justice system can in part be explained by socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, exposure to poor neighborhoods, poor access to public and early education, and exposure to harmful chemicals and pollution. Racial housing segregation has also been linked to racial disparities in crime rates, as black Americans have historically and to the present been prevented from moving into prosperous low-crime areas through actions of the government and private actors. Various explanations within criminology have been proposed for racial disparities in crime rates, including conflict theory, strain theory, general strain theory, social disorganization theory, macrostructural opportunity theory, social control theory, and subcultural theory.
Sex differences in crime are differences between men and women as the perpetrators or victims of crime. Such studies may belong to fields such as criminology, sociobiology, or feminist studies. Despite the difficulty of interpreting them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors. The nature or motive of the crime itself may also require consideration as a factor. Gendered profiling might affect the reported crime rates.
Crime in Australia is managed by various law enforcement bodies, the federal and state-based criminal justice systems and state-based correctional services.
In criminology, public-order crime is defined by Siegel (2004) as "crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society and the ability of people to function efficiently", i.e., it is behaviour that has been labelled criminal because it is contrary to shared norms, social values, and customs. Robertson (1989:123) maintains a crime is nothing more than "an act that contravenes a law". Generally speaking, deviancy is criminalized when it is too disruptive and has proved uncontrollable through informal sanctions.
In criminology, the classical school usually refers to the 18th-century work during the Enlightenment by the utilitarian and social-contract philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria. Their interests lay in the system of criminal justice and penology and indirectly through the proposition that "man is a calculating animal," in the causes of criminal behavior. The classical school of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional, fits the crime, and is carried out promptly.
In criminology, the Neo-Classical School continues the traditions of the Classical School the framework of Right Realism. Hence, the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria remains a relevant social philosophy in policy term for using punishment as a deterrent through law enforcement, the courts, and imprisonment.
The feminist school of criminology is a school of criminology developed in the late 1960s and into the 1970s as a reaction to the general disregard and discrimination of women in the traditional study of crime. It is the view of the feminist school of criminology that a majority of criminological theories were developed through studies on male subjects and focused on male criminality, and that criminologists often would "add women and stir" rather than develop separate theories on female criminality.
Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or theory that the threat of punishment will deter people from committing crime and reduce the probability and/or level of offending in society. It is one of five objectives that punishment is thought to achieve; the other four objectives are denunciation, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation.
Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time. Most available data underestimate crime before the 1930s, giving the false impression that crime was low in the early 1900s and had a sharp rise after. Instead, violent crime during the colonial period was likely three times higher than the highest modern rates in the data we have, and crime had been on the decline since colonial times. Within the better data for crime reporting and recording available starting in the 1930s, crime reached its broad, bulging modern peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005–2006, 2014–2016 and 2020–2021. As of July 1, 2024 violent crime was down and homicides were on pace to drop to 2015 levels by the end of the year.
Victimisation is the state or process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Lawrence W. Sherman is an experimental criminologist and police educator who defined evidence-based policing. Since October 2024 he has served as Chief Executive Officer of Benchmark Cambridge, a global police reform organisation. From 2022-24 he was Chief Scientific Officer of the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard, and since 2017 he has served as the Wolfson Professor of Criminology Emeritus at the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology.
Criminology is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, political scientists, economists, legal sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, social workers, biologists, social anthropologists, scholars of law and jurisprudence, as well as the processes that define administration of justice and the criminal justice system.
The feminist pathways perspective is a feminist perspective of criminology which suggests victimization throughout the life course is a key risk factor for women's entry into offending.
The National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC) is a research center at City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The NNSC works with communities to reduce violence, minimize arrest and incarceration, and increase trust between law enforcement and the public. Working in partnership with cities around the country the NNSC provides advising on implementing evidence-based violence reduction strategies. Additionally, the NNSC provides guidance on how to build trust between law enforcement and the communities it serves, facilitates connections between practitioners within and across jurisdictions, and serves as a resource for knowledge about violence prevention and reduction strategies.
Louis Schlesinger is a Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Schlesinger's areas of research focus on Forensic Psychology; focusing on extraordinary crimes including but not limited to serial and non-serial murder, rape, homicide, mass murder, and crime scene behavior. Dr. Schlesinger has written numerous books and journal articles. He has also participated in a number of podcasts, documentaries, and TV shows to discuss his work. Throughout his career, Schlesinger has been received the NJPA Psychologist of the Year award, the Karl F. Heiser Presidential Award, and the Distinguished Researcher Award.