Primary Theories of Crime and Victimization

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This text delves into the history of criminology, highlighting significant epochs and key practitioners along with their contributions to the discipline. It begins with foundational periods such as the Classical School, Positivist Criminology, Sociological Criminology (or the Chicago School), Conflict Criminology, and Developmental Criminology. The manuscript also examines crime recording methods in the United States, focusing on the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), and Self-Report Surveys, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. Various theories of crime and delinquency are explored, including strain theory, differential association theory, conflict theory, social bonding theory, rational choice theory, social structure theory, social disorganization theory, cultural deviance theory, differential reinforcement theory, and labeling theory. Additional topics include gangs, victimless crimes, causes of violent crime, serial killers, mass murderers, spree killers, sexual assault, mental health and crime, rural criminology, and queer criminology. The text concludes with discussions on community/police relations, theories of victimization, crime and punishment, the application of criminological theories to crime, and an overview of crime in the 21st century.