CH15: FORENSIC CRIMINOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA
IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THESE KEY TERMS: (pg 563)
TERM DEFINITION
APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY Refers to the application of criminological theory to criminal justice practice
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE In Psychology, this is the mental discomfort someone experiences when they hold two
or more contradictory beliefs, ideas or values simultaneously. This discomfort is
triggered when a person’s beliefs clashes with new evidence
CORRECTIONAL ASSESSMENT This is the stage where the criminologist presents aspects similar to those in a pre-
PHASE sentence report. It includes relevant aspects like personal, family and social
background associated with offenders behaviour (eg: precursors, triggers, causes, and
motives of crime, offender characteristics and influences) that may determine the
offender’s personal needs, risks and responsiveness
CORRECTIONS Refers widely to the correctional system
CORRECTIONS PHASE This stage is where criminologists are effectively used in a multidisciplinary team with
a correctional environment. A multidisciplinary team ( consisting of the criminologist
and other experts) should always be sensitive, and characteristics of offenders such as
ethnic differences, religious denomination and political stance should be taken into
account.
CRIME TRENDS These are changes in crime, such as when criminals migrate from motor vehicle theft
to motor- vehicle hijacking. It also includes the increase or decrease in a specific
crime
ETHICS These are rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular group, culture etc
EXPERT WITNESS This is a witness who gives evidence designed to assist the court based on their
specialized training, study or experience
METACOGNITION This is the ability to know how well you are performing, when you are likely to be
accurate in judgment and when you’re likely to be wrong
METACOGNITIVE DISSONANCE This is the belief that oneself is capable of recognizing one’s own errors in thinking,
reasoning and learning, despite either lack of evidence or overwhelming evidence to
the contrary. Examples include believing oneself to be knowledgeable despite a
demonstrable lack of knowledge, believing oneself to be incapable of error and
believing oneself to be completely objective
PROFESSIONALISM The professionalisation of criminology allows for the strict regulation of its members
by mandating particular levels of education or experience[cite: 46]. Criminology does
not yet have professional boards to regulate the actions of forensic criminologists.
However, in most countries, you can only practice as a criminologist if you are a
member of an organization (like the Australian and New Zealand Society of
Criminology, The British Society of Criminology, The Criminological Society of Africa, or
the American Society of Criminology) and have met specific criteria, including
subscribing to the organization's code of ethics
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT This is a report prepared by a criminologist to present an individualized, objective view
of the victim to the court with regard to the impact of crime
Yashvika John- KRM 110- 2025
, THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CRIMINOLOGY, APPLIED AND
FORENSIC CRIMINOLOGY (Page 563)
CRIMINOLOGY
Criminology is the study of crime, criminals, victims, punishments, and the prevention and control of crime.
CRIMINOLOGIST= Primary role is to study, interpret and explain crime. It is multi- disciplinary in both theory and
practice.
APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY FORENSIC CRIMINOLOGY
This occurs when criminological theory is put into This is a specific type of applied criminology that
action. involves the scientific study of crime and criminals
for the purpose of addressing investigative and legal
This is when you take the theories and knowledge questions
from general criminology and try to do something
practical with them Forensic criminology is a form of micro-analysis it
• MACRO- ANALYSIS (nomothetic/group) : tends to involve the ideographic (individual)
Applied criminology often looks at the examination of one or more related cases and
BIGGER picture consideration of its internal issues
• It tries to understand and address crime at a Therefore, when applied criminology is used within
brooder level our CJS, it can be defined as forensic criminology
• "Macro" means large-scale. • "Micro" means small-scale.
• "Nomothetic refers to the study of genera laws or • "Idiographic" refers to the study of individual
principles that apply to groups of people or cases or events, focusing on their unique details.
phenomena
So, applied criminology might involve things like:
• Developing a national crime prevention So, forensic criminology involves:
strategy • Analysing the specific motivations and behaviours
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a new policing of a particular offender in a single crime.
program across sever districts. • Preparing a pre-sentence report for one specific
• Researching trends in youth offending across offender to help the court decide on a sentence.
a province to inform policy It's about • Creating a victim impact statement detailing how
'systems, processes, and their relationships" a specific crime affected an individual victim.
on a larger scale
It's about the "examination of one or more related
cases and consideration of its internal issues".
Yashvika John- KRM 110- 2025
IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THESE KEY TERMS: (pg 563)
TERM DEFINITION
APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY Refers to the application of criminological theory to criminal justice practice
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE In Psychology, this is the mental discomfort someone experiences when they hold two
or more contradictory beliefs, ideas or values simultaneously. This discomfort is
triggered when a person’s beliefs clashes with new evidence
CORRECTIONAL ASSESSMENT This is the stage where the criminologist presents aspects similar to those in a pre-
PHASE sentence report. It includes relevant aspects like personal, family and social
background associated with offenders behaviour (eg: precursors, triggers, causes, and
motives of crime, offender characteristics and influences) that may determine the
offender’s personal needs, risks and responsiveness
CORRECTIONS Refers widely to the correctional system
CORRECTIONS PHASE This stage is where criminologists are effectively used in a multidisciplinary team with
a correctional environment. A multidisciplinary team ( consisting of the criminologist
and other experts) should always be sensitive, and characteristics of offenders such as
ethnic differences, religious denomination and political stance should be taken into
account.
CRIME TRENDS These are changes in crime, such as when criminals migrate from motor vehicle theft
to motor- vehicle hijacking. It also includes the increase or decrease in a specific
crime
ETHICS These are rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular group, culture etc
EXPERT WITNESS This is a witness who gives evidence designed to assist the court based on their
specialized training, study or experience
METACOGNITION This is the ability to know how well you are performing, when you are likely to be
accurate in judgment and when you’re likely to be wrong
METACOGNITIVE DISSONANCE This is the belief that oneself is capable of recognizing one’s own errors in thinking,
reasoning and learning, despite either lack of evidence or overwhelming evidence to
the contrary. Examples include believing oneself to be knowledgeable despite a
demonstrable lack of knowledge, believing oneself to be incapable of error and
believing oneself to be completely objective
PROFESSIONALISM The professionalisation of criminology allows for the strict regulation of its members
by mandating particular levels of education or experience[cite: 46]. Criminology does
not yet have professional boards to regulate the actions of forensic criminologists.
However, in most countries, you can only practice as a criminologist if you are a
member of an organization (like the Australian and New Zealand Society of
Criminology, The British Society of Criminology, The Criminological Society of Africa, or
the American Society of Criminology) and have met specific criteria, including
subscribing to the organization's code of ethics
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT This is a report prepared by a criminologist to present an individualized, objective view
of the victim to the court with regard to the impact of crime
Yashvika John- KRM 110- 2025
, THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CRIMINOLOGY, APPLIED AND
FORENSIC CRIMINOLOGY (Page 563)
CRIMINOLOGY
Criminology is the study of crime, criminals, victims, punishments, and the prevention and control of crime.
CRIMINOLOGIST= Primary role is to study, interpret and explain crime. It is multi- disciplinary in both theory and
practice.
APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY FORENSIC CRIMINOLOGY
This occurs when criminological theory is put into This is a specific type of applied criminology that
action. involves the scientific study of crime and criminals
for the purpose of addressing investigative and legal
This is when you take the theories and knowledge questions
from general criminology and try to do something
practical with them Forensic criminology is a form of micro-analysis it
• MACRO- ANALYSIS (nomothetic/group) : tends to involve the ideographic (individual)
Applied criminology often looks at the examination of one or more related cases and
BIGGER picture consideration of its internal issues
• It tries to understand and address crime at a Therefore, when applied criminology is used within
brooder level our CJS, it can be defined as forensic criminology
• "Macro" means large-scale. • "Micro" means small-scale.
• "Nomothetic refers to the study of genera laws or • "Idiographic" refers to the study of individual
principles that apply to groups of people or cases or events, focusing on their unique details.
phenomena
So, applied criminology might involve things like:
• Developing a national crime prevention So, forensic criminology involves:
strategy • Analysing the specific motivations and behaviours
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a new policing of a particular offender in a single crime.
program across sever districts. • Preparing a pre-sentence report for one specific
• Researching trends in youth offending across offender to help the court decide on a sentence.
a province to inform policy It's about • Creating a victim impact statement detailing how
'systems, processes, and their relationships" a specific crime affected an individual victim.
on a larger scale
It's about the "examination of one or more related
cases and consideration of its internal issues".
Yashvika John- KRM 110- 2025
