Criminology

Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. It includes fields such as crime statistics, criminal psychology[?], forensic science, law enforcement, and detective methods.

Naturally, criminology must take into account that the definition of crime varies according to the cultural mores and, especially, laws of a given area. This is an area where caution is warranted; if one is comparing, e.g., violent crimes between nations, one must be careful that the actions counted in that category are similar for each nation; otherwise the comparison is meaningless.

Criminology has, over time, developed several schools of thought, including:

• Classical school
• Positivist school
• Chicago school
• Conflict schools
• Frankfurt school
• Statistical school

See also:

• Criminologist
• Victimology
• Crime fiction