Contemporary forms of crime: Nature and scope
The field of criminology systematically studies the causes of crime. The explanations for crime
are not simple; we live in a complex society, and the causes of crime are as complex as the
society itself. the criminologist attempts to explore the conditions leading to criminal behavior
and the factors in society that contribute to its continued existence. The theoretical explanations
of criminology contribute to an understanding of criminal behavior and also provide an
important framework for examining current policies and past as well as present treatment
efforts established to deal with or alleviate the crime problem. Criminology is, ordinarily, the
science of crime and seeks to study the phenomenon of criminality in its entirety. Criminology
as a branch of knowledge is concerned with those particular conducts of individual behaviour
which are prohibited by society. It is therefore a societal study which seeks to discover the
causes of criminality and suggest remedies to reduce contemporary forms of crimes.
Criminology consists of two main branches- criminal biology, which investigates causes of
criminality found in the mental and physical constitution of the deviant, 'and criminal sociology
which deals with enquiries into the effect of environment as a cause of criminality. The object
of criminology is to study the sequence of law making, law-breaking and reaction to law
breaking from the point of view of the efficiency of law as a method of control. The science of
criminology aims at taking up case to case study of different crimes and suggests measures to
'reform' the offenders. There are many different specialties within the field of criminology, it
can be difficult to identify one career that encapsulates what “typical” member of the profession
is and does. Depending on the background, education, experience and position, a criminologist
may perform any number of functions, including crime scene investigation, interview and
interrogate suspects, participate in autopsies, or profile criminals. Some within this field focus
almost exclusively on research; others work as consultants for government’s agencies or
liaisons, while some work as consultants and employees of private security companies.
