Parallels between Victimology and Criminology

Experiencing the Parallels between Victimology and Criminology

All too often, society is inclined to allow criminals to receive leniency for their crimes as a result of the environment in which a person may have existed. Even if the criminal was not influenced by their environment to commit the crime, the criminal is liable to adopt the persona of the victim in order to gain sympathy. This is often successful because when more well-off individuals are in the presence of those that are considered to be less fortunate, they may feel guilt. In many cases, this guilt is not necessary. However, if an individual begins to express their opinion that by adopting the role of a victim the criminal is dodging the responsibility of the crime, they will likely be criticized greatly for their thoughts.

Victimology, even if it is sincere, is often a way in which individuals justify a crime to themselves and to others. For example, one of the most commonly held beliefs within the United States of America is that of the great American dream, in which everyone is happy, living in a nice house and the parents have stable occupations making a comfortable living for their families. This does not at all reflect the reality of inner city slums and poor rural areas. By clinging to the belief that no matter what, even without trying in some cases, individuals deserve to experience the American dream, they may be inclined to take what they feel they deserve rather than try to work for it. Some people will rationalize that they have no means to work for this dream, and they had no choice but to act out in the way that they did. However, this blaming of society does not change the reality of the situations. By allowing one person to get away with a crime because of a victim mentality would be a slap in the face to the people that do work to succeed.

Herein lays the most important parallel between victimology and Criminology. While it is simple to blame society for one’s troubles, this does not begin to solve the problem. Individuals from all sides need to think about how the society may impact the role of the criminal and to take steps in order to change things. This way, when an individual tries to adopt a victim mentality, we can state as a society that there were other options. By outlining the different options in such a setting, even more people can be exposed to the ways in which society is working to stabilize equality between different categories of individuals and work to reduce crime as a product of environment or surroundings. Criminology works to examine how society and the criminal interact, and this needs to be looked at under extreme scrutiny in order to find the causes of problems and work towards successful solutions.

There are also instances in which those who are perceived to be in a seat of power will become corrupt. It is important to look at this too. Individuals may attempt to adopt a victim role in this scene as well in order to appeal to the sympathetic public. Aside from sociopaths, individuals have moral standards that will tell them what is wrong and what is right. For anyone to adopt the role of the victim in order to gain sympathy is a ploy against the considerate nature of others. When it comes to crime, the people that should be playing the role of the victim are those who were victimized during the act of the crime. For individuals that live, they are many times much stronger than people may have believed them to be, and it is nauseating that the criminal will then try to adopt a role that the person they violated will not even take on in the court room.

Criminology Online Degree

Who is Qualified to Receive a Criminology Online Degree

On the Internet, there are a number of schools that will offer courses and educational material as a basis for individuals to receive various online degrees. One of the many degrees that can be attained by individuals wishing to study on the internet would include Criminology. There are a number of different career paths that are open to individuals with a Criminology degree. Because of this, it is a very popular and eagerly sought degree by individuals that would like to go back to school in order to earn a degree, but who may feel that they do not have the time or financial means to dedicate to a full time pursuit of the degree. Convenience and efficiency are offered to the individual would-be student and they are able to graduate after meeting the requirements of their chosen online schooling establishment. There are some criteria that individuals will need to meet before they are able to receive a valid degree in Criminology from an online institution.

First of all, individuals will only qualify if they are prepared to do the work that is mandated by the school. It is still important for the student to be willing and able to learn about the different studies and courses that will be taught. Without committing to this responsibility, an individual will not be able to meet the standards that are set for them and they will likely lose the money that they have invested in the venture. When a person is prepared for the dedication that they need to have in order to graduate with a Criminology online degree, they will be able to attend the school and succeed in the courses that they will be required to take in order to graduate. In many cases, this will also include the ability to purchase the necessary course work packets, books and journals. Just like in typical and traditional classroom settings, reading and response work will need to be completed in order to make sure that the individual understands and comprehends the course work that is being taught. One of the supplements of classroom time is work outside the classroom. Traditionally, this will include the reading or certain texts or articles, which will sometimes need to be purchased by the individual students.

Those who qualify to receive a Criminology online degree will also need to be financially able to afford the courses. For students that are not able to individually pay for their education, there are often different financial aid offices at schools, even online. By utilizing the help of the financial aid department, a student can typically work out a payment plan with the school. This allows the school to make the money that they need to have from the students in order to pay the salaries of professors and other educational needs, and the student is able to begin their journey to graduation. A Criminology degree that is received online is respectable, but it is the amount of time that the individual puts into the learning process that will determine how much they will personally get out of the experience.

Exploring Criminology Lesson Plans

In order for anyone to get a degree in Criminology, it is important that they pass a series of tests that have been standardized and mandated by the specific college which the student attends or in which the student partakes. In order to ensure that men and women struggling to receive a criminology degree know the important basics of criminology and the relationship between crime and the public, it is important for the students to learn the same basic elements of the field. For example, there are three widely held beliefs that define different causes of crime and the criminal. These are known as the schools of thought for Criminology. The lesson plan at any college would then likely, if not undoubtedly, include an exploration of these different schools of thought in order to examine how people viewed the field over time. It is also important to note the differences that take place over time. Many people may not know it, but more schools of thought opened up after it was revealed that there might be some kind of link between an individual and their chemical or genetic makeup. Even hormones have been speculated to make a difference in this field.

By looking at the different schools of thought, an individual can understand how time and scientific advances lead to a more individual understanding of how crime is produced. Many theories also arose in order to try to help explain what affected an individual and enticed them to commit a crime, including how society in general may have contributed to this calling. Lombroso believed that a criminal is born with the particular defect, and that a man or woman that possessed the chemical and biological makeup of a criminal will have no choice but to succumb to that lifestyle. Supporters believe that this is the nature of the criminal, and no amount of nurturing can change the outcome. Initially, crime was expected, by individuals such as Cohen and Felson, to be a choice. These people believe that criminals could choose to make a different decision but due to indifference or lack of knowledge, these individuals do not want to choose morality over the instant gratification that is rewarded by crime. These different theories would test and be attributed to the different criminologists, all done while students are engaged in a criminology class, and preparing for the life that awaits them after graduation.

A look at the criminal mind and the rational mind would also likely help individuals to establish their own personal beliefs about criminology and the reactions of society and deviance. It is important to allow individuals to examine these things individually in order to encourage students taking part in a lesson plan for the material to be able to form their own opinion, without it being the suggestion of someone else. In this way, it can be suggested that bias does not affect the lives of the individuals that are studying criminology, or influence the way in which they think about or relate to crime.