Crime and Criminology

Running head: CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY
Crime and Criminology
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY
The term criminology has emerged as one of the most important ones in the context of
the modern world because of the increasing crime rate of the world (White, Haines &
Asquith, 2017). According to a report of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime) (2018) there are currently more than 7.6 “intentional homicides per 100,000
inhabitants” in comparison to 6.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in the year 2012. In addition to this,
the crime rate for the other kinds of crimes has also increased in an exponential manner in
synchronicity with the increasing population of the world. However, at the same it is seen
that people hold various kinds of misconceptions related to the various criminals and also the
crimes committed by them (Cohen, 2017). The subject of criminology offers the opportunity
to individuals to undertake a study of the crimes, criminals and the justice system not from
the perspective of psychology but also on the basis of their cause and effect (Reid, 2015).
This reflective essay will discuss about the concept of criminology which I have learned in
this course in the light of the three topics “Class and Crime, Women, Crime and Social
Control and The Media, Crime and Moral Panic”.
I would like to say that I found the concept of criminology which formed the cruix of
this course a very interesting one. The course had some very interesting topics which not only
helped me to learn a great deal about crimes and the justice system of our nation but also
offered me to the opportunity to understand the concept of crime from the perspective of
“cause and effect”. Some of the topics of the course which I really liked were “Rational
Choice Theory and Crime Prevention, Class and Crime, Realist Criminologies, Women,
Crime and Social Control, The Media, Crime and Moral Panic, Punishment and Prisons” and
others.
In this paragraph I would discuss about the fourth topic of the course, namely, “Class
and Crime”. Prior to this course, I had the opinion that the various kinds of crimes are
correlated with the class or the social status of the criminal. However, the course and the

2CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY
knowledge that I gained through the same changed my perception. Crime has nothing to do
with the class of the criminal rather it has to do with the experiences and also the mentality or
the character of the criminal. According to Reiman and Leighton (2015), people commonly
hold a misconception that the individuals who are financially unstable background and also
the ones who are less educated. It is true that recent crime statistics have shown that a
majority of the crimes are committed by people from these backgrounds however at the same
it is also seen that crimes have also been committed by the people who are not only highly
educated but also from financially well off families (Akers, 2017). This misconception of the
people as a matter of fact have given rise to the concept of Islamophobia wherein it is seen
that just because some of the major crimes of the world like the World Trade Center attack
and others have been committed by the Muslims, all Muslims are seen with skeptical eyes
because of this (Lee, 2015). I am personally of the viewpoint that class has got nothing to do
with the crimes that are being committed by the various crimes rather the motive and the
mindset of the criminals and also the factors which motivated them to perform the crime is
more important in this regard. Thus, the people need to come out of this mind and rather than
targeting some sections of the population for the reduction in the crime should try to focus on
making the law and order effective for the reduction in the crime rate of the world. I would
say that this topic of the course really helped me not only by changing my perception but also
by guiding me towards the right way of thinking in the context of the subject of criminology.
Another important topic taught in the course which interesting as well as helpful was
“Women, Crime and Social Control”. The crimes against women had become the order of
the day and the most interesting fact to note about this is the fact that this is not something
new (Naffine, 2015). As a matter of fact, women have been subjected to various kinds of
crimes like physical abuse, rape, molestation and others (Rafter, 2017). In the recent times, it
is seen that the crimes against women had reduced in a substantial manner because of the