Victims of Crime

Paper Summary:

In this article,the writer discusses that theories about criminals have been with the field of criminology for thousands of years. The writer notes that while the first theories might have been primitive, they paved the way for advancements in science and technology to propose still more theories. Further, the writer claims that it is likely that other theories will be advanced in the future, and perhaps some of them will work to explain some of the criminal behavior that is still difficult and largely unexplainable today. The writer maintains that the theories have great importance in the field of criminology, as they work to help criminologists and police not only determine why a crime was committed, but perhaps help to stop further crimes in the future. The writer concludes that a crime is still a crime, and individuals and businesses that have been the victims must try to recoup losses.

From the Paper:

"As advances in understanding of the mind and body began to occur, people began to realize that there might be various causes of criminal behavior. This led to the creation of more theories. Planetary influence, or a zodiac, was one theory presented. The theory after that concerned God's will. Around 3000 B.C., however, a theory was advanced based on medicine. Basically, it said that natural illness sometimes caused criminal behavior. This was vitally important to the study of criminality as the first human based, or physically based, theory that was presented."
"From this theory, other theories quickly sprang up as criminologists and researchers learned more about the human body. Once it was discovered that the brain played a role in criminal behavior, many other theories appeared. It was too easy to simply say that someone's brain caused them to be a criminal, so theories about different parts of the brain, different chemicals in the brain, and different brain wave patterns had to be discussed."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, Richard H. (2000, January 13). Unit 5: deviance, conformity and social control. University of Colorado at Denver. Retrieved March 19, 2003, from http://psychology. about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fthunder1.cudenver.edu%2F%2Fsociology%2Fintrosoc%2Ftopics%2FUnitNotes%2Fweek05.html
• Ferri, Enrico. (1999). Criminal Sociology. University of Virginia. Retrieved March 19, 2003, from http://psychology.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2 Fetext.lib.virginia.edu%2Fcgibin%2Ftoccer%3Fid%3DFerCrim%26tag%3Dpublic%26images%3Dimages%2Fmodeng%26data%3D%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fparsed%26part%3D0

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