Criminological Theory
In the Criminal Justice system, conducting research is vital to understanding the occurrence of crimes. Therefore, when establishing a theory to format a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase the public understanding of criminal behaviors, researchers must adequately contribute to the understanding of such theory and communicate that understanding to others (William & McShane, 2010). In this paper the subject to discuss is the establishment of a distinctive criminological theory, a theory that explains how researchers should identify the occurrence of crime and how offenders commit crime. A theory is a useful tool that helps people understands the world around them. For example, in criminology, a theory helps the public understand the functioning of the criminal justice system, the occurrence of crimes and the methods or approaches people implement when committing crimes. In many instances, theory suggests the way things are, not the way they should be. For example, a theory is not naturally good or bad; however, people often use theories for good or bad purposes (William & McShane, 2010). Nonetheless, the ideal criminological theory would also deal with human behavior. In that the ideal criminological theory deals with human behaviors, it is only fair to employ the social science approach in which researchers can deal with probabilities. For example, when conducting research to uncover the causes of criminal behavior, some social science researchers would utter statements such as,”self-control helps dictate the way offenders behave themselves, an offender who has low self control is more likely to use narcotics than an offender who has a higher level of self-control”. For researchers to use this theory to its highest effectiveness the theory must make sense and explain as much criminal behaviors as possible; it must also be as concise as possible. Most important, the theory must be validity (Indiana Courts, 2010).
References: Indiana Courts. (2010). Indiana judicial center. Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/judiciary/center/pubs/best-practices/criminogenics.html Kraska, P.B. (2008). Criminal justice and criminology research methods. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu. William, F.P., & McShane, M.D. (2010). Criminological theory. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu