CRIMINOLOGY OVERVIEW
A. Learning Outcomes
After participating in this learning, students are expected to be able to:
1. Analyze and interpret the meaning of criminology;
2. Analyze and interpret the scope of criminology;
3. Analyze and interpret the relationship between criminology and criminal
law;
4. Analyze and interpret the objectives of studying criminology;
5. Analyze and interpret about criminalization, decriminalization, penalization
and depenalization.
B. Characteristics of Criminology
1. Definition of Criminology
Criminology is a science that studies criminals and crimes, as well as
studying the ways criminals commit crimes, then try their best to find out the factors
that cause crimes and how to find and find ways to prevent and overcome crimes.1
The term criminology was first used by P. Topinard (1830-1911), a French
anthropologist in 1879, before that the term was widely used was Criminal
Anthropology2.
Criminology was developed in the late 18th century, when various
movements imbued with humanity, questioned the cruelty, arbitrariness, and
inefficiency of the criminal justice and prison system. During this period reformers
such as Cesare Beccaria in Italy, Sir Samuel Romilly , John Howard , and
Jeremy Bentham in England, all representing the so-called classical school of
criminology, sought to carry out the penological reforms and criminal laws in force
at the time. Their main goal is to reduce the sentence, forcing the judge to observe
the nulla poena sine principle
1
,lege (legal process), reducing the application of the death penalty, and to humanize
correctional institutions3.
The study of crime has long been carried out by Ancient Greek philosophers
such as Plato and Aristotle, especially in the effort to explain the causes of evil. In
his book "Republiek", Plato stated that gold and man are the source of many evils.
The higher the wealth in the eyes of humans, the more deterioration the appreciation
for morality. In every country where there are many poor people, there are secretly
scoundrels, pickpockets, religious rapists, and criminals of all stripes. Then, in his
book "De Wetten", Plato also stated that if in a society there is no poor and no one
is rich, of course there will be high morality there because there will be no
ignorance, no tyranny, and no envy and hatred4. Aristotle stated that poverty gave
rise to crime and rebellion. Great evils are not done to acquire what is necessary for
life, but for luxury5.
Etymologically, Criminology comes from the series of words Crime and
Logos. Crime means crime, while Logos means science. From these two
meanings, it can be interpreted that criminology is a science that studies crime.
There are many opinions conveyed by scholars related to the definition of
criminology and each meaning is influenced by the breadth of the scope of the study
material covered in criminology. Criminology as an imu is not only seen from the
crime itself but can be seen from various perspectives, some view criminology in
terms of the background of the occurrence of crime, and some view criminology in
terms of attitudes and behaviors that deviate from the norms that apply in people's
lives. All of them are technically inseparable from various disciplines, especially
those related to the object of study. By
2
, Therefore, scholars in describing the meaning of criminology differ from each other
and have various limitations6. This is as seen in some of the definitions of
criminology below7:
1. Edwin H. Sutherland
Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as
social phenomena . Criminology is a set of knowledge that studies crime as a
social phenomenon, including the process of making laws, violating laws, and
people's reactions to violations of laws. Sutherland divides criminology into 3
main branches of science, namely:
a) Sociology of law.
The crime is an act that is prohibited by law and threatened with a
sanction. So what determines that an act is a crime is the law. Here
investigate what factors led to the development of the law (in particular
criminal law).
b) Etiology of crime.
It is a branch of criminology that searches for the cause of crime. In
criminology, the etiology of crime is the most important crime.
c) Penology.
Basically, it is the science of punishment, but Sutherland includes rights
related to the control of repressive and preventive crime8.
2. Bonger stated that criminology is a science that aims to investigate the
symptoms of crime as widely as possible9. What is meant by crime symptoms
3
A. Learning Outcomes
After participating in this learning, students are expected to be able to:
1. Analyze and interpret the meaning of criminology;
2. Analyze and interpret the scope of criminology;
3. Analyze and interpret the relationship between criminology and criminal
law;
4. Analyze and interpret the objectives of studying criminology;
5. Analyze and interpret about criminalization, decriminalization, penalization
and depenalization.
B. Characteristics of Criminology
1. Definition of Criminology
Criminology is a science that studies criminals and crimes, as well as
studying the ways criminals commit crimes, then try their best to find out the factors
that cause crimes and how to find and find ways to prevent and overcome crimes.1
The term criminology was first used by P. Topinard (1830-1911), a French
anthropologist in 1879, before that the term was widely used was Criminal
Anthropology2.
Criminology was developed in the late 18th century, when various
movements imbued with humanity, questioned the cruelty, arbitrariness, and
inefficiency of the criminal justice and prison system. During this period reformers
such as Cesare Beccaria in Italy, Sir Samuel Romilly , John Howard , and
Jeremy Bentham in England, all representing the so-called classical school of
criminology, sought to carry out the penological reforms and criminal laws in force
at the time. Their main goal is to reduce the sentence, forcing the judge to observe
the nulla poena sine principle
1
,lege (legal process), reducing the application of the death penalty, and to humanize
correctional institutions3.
The study of crime has long been carried out by Ancient Greek philosophers
such as Plato and Aristotle, especially in the effort to explain the causes of evil. In
his book "Republiek", Plato stated that gold and man are the source of many evils.
The higher the wealth in the eyes of humans, the more deterioration the appreciation
for morality. In every country where there are many poor people, there are secretly
scoundrels, pickpockets, religious rapists, and criminals of all stripes. Then, in his
book "De Wetten", Plato also stated that if in a society there is no poor and no one
is rich, of course there will be high morality there because there will be no
ignorance, no tyranny, and no envy and hatred4. Aristotle stated that poverty gave
rise to crime and rebellion. Great evils are not done to acquire what is necessary for
life, but for luxury5.
Etymologically, Criminology comes from the series of words Crime and
Logos. Crime means crime, while Logos means science. From these two
meanings, it can be interpreted that criminology is a science that studies crime.
There are many opinions conveyed by scholars related to the definition of
criminology and each meaning is influenced by the breadth of the scope of the study
material covered in criminology. Criminology as an imu is not only seen from the
crime itself but can be seen from various perspectives, some view criminology in
terms of the background of the occurrence of crime, and some view criminology in
terms of attitudes and behaviors that deviate from the norms that apply in people's
lives. All of them are technically inseparable from various disciplines, especially
those related to the object of study. By
2
, Therefore, scholars in describing the meaning of criminology differ from each other
and have various limitations6. This is as seen in some of the definitions of
criminology below7:
1. Edwin H. Sutherland
Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as
social phenomena . Criminology is a set of knowledge that studies crime as a
social phenomenon, including the process of making laws, violating laws, and
people's reactions to violations of laws. Sutherland divides criminology into 3
main branches of science, namely:
a) Sociology of law.
The crime is an act that is prohibited by law and threatened with a
sanction. So what determines that an act is a crime is the law. Here
investigate what factors led to the development of the law (in particular
criminal law).
b) Etiology of crime.
It is a branch of criminology that searches for the cause of crime. In
criminology, the etiology of crime is the most important crime.
c) Penology.
Basically, it is the science of punishment, but Sutherland includes rights
related to the control of repressive and preventive crime8.
2. Bonger stated that criminology is a science that aims to investigate the
symptoms of crime as widely as possible9. What is meant by crime symptoms
3
