In the book Unwrapping Criminology, by John Krimmel, the history and development of crime, criminal justice, and criminology in the United States is explored. The book goes through the different eras of crime, and discusses all sorts of ideologies shared by criminologists throughout history. The book is filled with background information which gives the reader context for the plethora of crimes committed in the past, and for all the different opinions that theorists have had about criminology. The book takes us through the birth of criminology, its relevance from century to century, and its persisting appearances even today. The book ends up being an organized, detailed, and easily understood timeline of the history of crime and criminology.
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In the book, several extraordinary theorists and influential figures are mentioned, and are commended for their contributions to criminology community. These theories emerged during different time periods, and the book does a good job of showing the progression of criminology. The author mentions theorist such as Cesar Beccaria who wanted to reform criminal law under tyrannical monarchs, Cesare Lombroso who believed criminals are born and cannot be reformed, and Charles Darwin who suggested that criminal tendencies are inherited. These particular theorists were around during colonial times. After the Chicago School of Criminology was built, theorist like Edwin Sutherland and Robert Merton emerged, who believed external factors such as society and poverty influenced individuals to commit crimes. As criminology evolved, people began to see that criminals are influenced by economic issues, and social interactions. The book mentions over seventy theorists, and the reader really gets and idea of how criminology was …show more content…
Delinquency in youths has always been an issue in criminology since adolescents are more prone to being easily influenced. For example, during the 1920s, children were exposed to a lot criminal opportunity at the street level so a lot of them began joining gangs. Just as theorist Edwin Sutherland suggested, when kids surround themselves with delinquents, they are more than likely to become delinquents themselves. I agree with Sutherland’s theory since I also believe that your personality and the way you carry yourself is a mixture of the personalities and behaviors of those closest to you too. Another theorist Albert Cohen explained that children who are a part of the lower class have less of a chance of meeting society’s goals. As a result they turn towards criminal activity, and their delinquent subculture is just “a collective response to their frustration” (84). Children then just end up having more motivation to commit crimes than to try and live up to society’s expectations. As mentioned in the book, children need to be positively engaged in the community so they can feel a senses of acceptance and are committed to something they find important too. When children have nothing to lose, that is when they turn towards delinquency which is why juvenile delinquency has been occurring for so many years. In conclusion, Unwrapping Criminology is a good account of
In the book, several extraordinary theorists and influential figures are mentioned, and are commended for their contributions to criminology community. These theories emerged during different time periods, and the book does a good job of showing the progression of criminology. The author mentions theorist such as Cesar Beccaria who wanted to reform criminal law under tyrannical monarchs, Cesare Lombroso who believed criminals are born and cannot be reformed, and Charles Darwin who suggested that criminal tendencies are inherited. These particular theorists were around during colonial times. After the Chicago School of Criminology was built, theorist like Edwin Sutherland and Robert Merton emerged, who believed external factors such as society and poverty influenced individuals to commit crimes. As criminology evolved, people began to see that criminals are influenced by economic issues, and social interactions. The book mentions over seventy theorists, and the reader really gets and idea of how criminology was …show more content…
Delinquency in youths has always been an issue in criminology since adolescents are more prone to being easily influenced. For example, during the 1920s, children were exposed to a lot criminal opportunity at the street level so a lot of them began joining gangs. Just as theorist Edwin Sutherland suggested, when kids surround themselves with delinquents, they are more than likely to become delinquents themselves. I agree with Sutherland’s theory since I also believe that your personality and the way you carry yourself is a mixture of the personalities and behaviors of those closest to you too. Another theorist Albert Cohen explained that children who are a part of the lower class have less of a chance of meeting society’s goals. As a result they turn towards criminal activity, and their delinquent subculture is just “a collective response to their frustration” (84). Children then just end up having more motivation to commit crimes than to try and live up to society’s expectations. As mentioned in the book, children need to be positively engaged in the community so they can feel a senses of acceptance and are committed to something they find important too. When children have nothing to lose, that is when they turn towards delinquency which is why juvenile delinquency has been occurring for so many years. In conclusion, Unwrapping Criminology is a good account of