Why I am Persuing a Career in Criminology

836 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on prison reform

Criminology has always been quite a mystery. Figuring out why people commit crimes is one of the major components of studying criminology. Do most criminals act rationally after weighing the costs of their offense? Is the environment or community ever to blame for an individual to commit a crime? Do mental diseases or even biological defects factor into whether a person will go on to live a life of crime? Over the past two hundred years many scientist have developed explanations to try to answer these questions. In fact, the number of explanations of why people commit crimes sometimes looks about equal to the number of criminologists. I explore these questions and more about the topic of criminology in the following paper.
I personally feel passionate about the topic of criminology because I grew up around people who have committed crimes, most of them not very severe but I have seen the benefits that law enforcement has on a community and all the good It can do this is why I have decided to pursue a career in law enforcement and is what I am majoring in here at North Georgia Technical College and while pursuing a career not just for me but for anyone who is going into criminal law it is important to understand how the criminal mind works. I personally did not grow up with family or any relation or connection to people in law enforcement but it has always struck my interest and eventually decided that was what I wanted to do with my life. I believe I finally decided to do this finally when I was in my last couple years of high school which isn’t really that long ago.
“The foundation of classical criminology is its central belief that individual criminals engage in a process of rational decision making in choosing how to commit cri...

... middle of paper ...

...e commit such horrible crimes or begin in criminal activities. We as natural humans are all capable of engaging in delinquent behavior. What stands in the way of a human that makes them? What starts people to behave in deviant behavior or to choose not to commit crimes at all? We may never really know or comprehend the real reasons behind why certain humans make decisive choices like these every day. Many philosophers and scientists looked frantically and dug deep into the criminal law system and the delinquent ways of criminals using different explanations to explain delinquent behavior. With these theories they were able to develop with multiple different theories that explained different views on why people decided to commit crimes. Crime will never truly be fully understood no matter how much we study and research. In the end criminology will still be a mystery.

Show More
Related

  • The Dating Game Killer Research Paper

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paternoster, R., & Bachman, R., (2001). Explaining criminals and crime. Essays in contemporary criminological theory. New York City, N.Y.: Oxford University

    Read More

  • Discussion of Ciminological Theories: Trait Theory & Developmental Theory

    1881 Words  | 4 Pages

    A person might find him- or herself interested in discovering what it is that makes a criminal take the path that he or she does. Is it a personal choice? Coincidence? Circumstance? What exactly is it that starts an individual down a pathway that leads to a criminal life or leads them down a path towards "normal" life within the law? Criminology, or the study of the scientific factors behind criminal behavior, points to the answer of that. As is typical with most sciences, however, there is no one, conclusive answer to all or any of these questions. The field of criminology is loaded with a variety of theories, each with a probability of being true, but none is believed to be the standalone explanation of the total science of the study of criminal behavior.

    Read More

  • Officer to Killer

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Criminology is the scientific study of the causes and prevention of crimes. Criminology also uses a vast amount of theories to explain peoples’ actions, mental state, and their drive for committing crimes. Some crimes have monetary benefits, while other crime are committed in revenge or in spite of another, which would be called crimes of passion. Because it can be sometime difficult to understand why certain crime are committed, the only thing we can do is use theories to better decipher thoughts, morals, and reasons behind committing crimes.

    Read More

  • Sociological Theory, Social Theory And Psychological Theories Of Crime

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    People are uniquely different and because of this reason, they do have different behaviors. Crime is one kind of behavior that an individual can engage in. They are punishable by the law and may be prosecuted by the state (Helfgott, 2008). There are different theories existing that try to explain the actions of criminals. They deeply explain what causes an individual to commit a criminal activity. This paper discusses some examples of the biological theories, social theories and psychological theories of crime.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Causes Of Criminology

    3067 Words  | 7 Pages

    One of the biggest concerns of criminology is the reason why the criminals commit the crimes that they do. Whether it’s due to a mental disease or genetics. Even if the criminal is healthy and has been planning it for months analyzing the consequences and results. Could the society that the criminal has grown up in ever be at fault causing him to act the way he or she did? People have been trying to find the reason that criminals commit these crimes for many years, and the numbers of theories that have been come up with looks to be the same number of criminologists. A criminologist is “one who studies the biological and sociological causes and consequences of crime and criminal behavior (such as the effects of mental defects and social environment).” Their job is to figure out why criminals acted the way they did and how to change the person in order to not repeat it, in other words rehabilitate them. Rehabilitation teaches the prisons to live a better life when let out instead of being punished in prison. When a criminal commits a crime the reason for the action is a very important part of the case and after the prisoner is behind bars, then they can find a solution for the crime to not be repeated by the same convict.

    Read More

  • Career Goals In Criminal Justice

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gaining an in-depth knowledge of the criminal justice system, throughout my Bachelors program has been exciting as much as an eye opener. Some of the subjects were ones that I did not expect. There were also, ones that had no idea how ignorant I was on the subject.

    Read More

  • Rational Choice Theory: Merits and Limitations

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, those who study and carry out its theories are considered scientists. The theories and practices within the subject help criminologists determine the cause and consequence of criminal behavior; also why criminology is so highly regarded among law enforcement and the legal world. Socioeconomic status, psychological behaviors and of course, the legal aspect are just a few factors criminologists analyze when determining criminal behavior. The next few paragraphs will provide an explanation of rational choice theory and the various factors that are studied to determine how criminologists categorize crime and criminal behavior. Along with an explanation of the theory, this will be an example of how that theory is utilized in the justice system.

    Read More

  • Why I Chose Criminal Justice

    380 Words  | 1 Pages

    Achieving academic excellence while obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice is the first step towards becoming financially able to support my son by working as a law enforcement analyst. While working on my degree, I am determined to maintain my 4.0 GPA, a challenge that demonstrates my ability to learn and overcome obstacles, as well as. This commitment to maintaining my GPA requires me to work on having a positive attitude, as well as learn about discipline, self-management, and hard work, all which are beneficial to me in my field of work. I chose criminal justice because it requires thinking about and analyzing facts to solve crimes while helping and protecting people, something I have always felt strongly about. Since I was

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Being A Criminal Justice

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have seen that being a criminal justice major is awesome, because the jobs that are associated with a criminal justice major are really interesting to me. Being a criminal justice major has been something that I have wanted to do since I was watching crime TV shows when I was a little kid. These shows had most of my interest and the character that I would love to be is obviously the lead detective. I have always wanted to be the one who caught the break in the case that eventually led to the apprehension of the person that committed the crime. That is why I watched shows like Monk, Criminal Minds, Psych, etc. Basically if the show had crime in it and there were people trying to catch the criminal I was most likely glued to the TV. There have also been a lot of issues surrounding the criminal justice field that I find interesting. Some of these issues have touched on whether or not law enforcement should monitor cities’ more closely, due to the recent attacks on U.S. soil. The major that I have decided to go with seems to really fit me and I am anxious to start learning more about this field, and I am glad that I am not going to have to be on the front lines. I want to be a forensic accountant because I know it will always interest me throughout life. I am glad that I will not be surrounded by the tension that comes with respecting citizen rights and cops overstepping their boundaries between laws and respecting citizens’ rights.

    Read More

  • Social Disorganisation Theory And Strain Theory

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.

    Read More

  • Is Crime a Biological or Learned Behavior?

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    There has always been a fascination with trying to determine what causes an individual to become a criminal? Of course a large part of that fascination has to do with the want to reduce crime, and to determine if there is a way to detect and prevent individuals from committing crime. Determining what causes criminality is still not perfectly clear and likewise, there is still debate as to whether crime is caused biologically, environmentally, or socially. Furthermore, the debate is directly correlated to the notion of 'nurture vs nature'. Over time many researchers have presented various theories pertaining to what causes criminal behavior. There are many theories that either support or oppose the concept of crime being biological rather than a learned behavior.

    Read More

  • The Development of a Criminal Mind

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion it is shown through examinations of a average criminals biological makeup is often antagonized by a unsuitable environment can lead a person to crime. Often a criminal posses biological traits that are fertile soil for criminal behavior. Some peoples bodies react irrationally to a abnormal diet, and some people are born with criminal traits. But this alone does not explain their motivation for criminal behavior. It is the environment in which these people live in that release the potential form criminal behavior and make it a reality. There are many environmental factors that lead to a person committing a crime ranging from haw they were raised, what kind of role models they followed, to having a suitable victims almost asking to be victimized. The best way to solve criminal behavior is to find the source of the problem but this is a very complex issue and the cause of a act of crime cannot be put on one source.

    Read More

  • Are Criminals Born or Made?

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    Understanding Psychology and Crime; Perspectives on Theory and Action, New York. PENNINGTON, D ( 2002) , Introducing Psychology: Approaches, Topics and Methods, London, Hodder Arnold TANNENBAUN, B, (2007),Profs link criminal behaviour to genetics [online] , Available at: http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2007/11/profs_link_criminal_behavior_to_genetics [accessed 16th October 2011]. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/41182390/Explanations-of-Criminal-behaviour

    Read More

  • The Causes of Criminal Behavior

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Different schools of thought propose varying theoretical models of criminality. It is agreeable that criminal behaviour is deep rooted in societies and screams for attention. Biological, Social ecological and psychological model theories are key to helping researchers gain deeper comprehension of criminal behaviour and ways to avert them before they become a menace to society. All these theories put forward a multitude of factors on the outlooks on crime. All these theories have valid relevancy to continuous research on criminal behaviour.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Criminology

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near

    Read More

More about Why I am Persuing a Career in Criminology

Open Document