Criminology vs Criminal Justice
The realm of law enforcement is extensive, covering not only law and justice but also crime prevention through the study of criminal behavior. This extensive scope often leads to confusion among those looking to pursue a career in the field, as they struggle to differentiate between criminology and criminal justice. While there is significant overlap between these two subjects, there are also notable distinctions that justify their classification as separate fields. This article aims to shed light on these differences to help students decide on a suitable course of study.
Criminology
As implied by its name, criminology involves the study of crime and criminal behavior. This field treats crime as a social phenomenon and criminals as deviant individuals within society. Criminology also examines the process of law-making and society’s reaction to lawbreakers through law and justice. In this sense, criminology resembles other social subjects, as crime is considered social behavior, and the field seeks to explain the social causes of such behavior and society’s response to crime. Criminology is grounded in human behavior, with crime’s implications also viewed in this context. The field strives to find ways to reduce crime incidence in society by examining crime, its motives, and society’s perspective on crime. A master’s degree in criminology teaches students to understand and predict criminal behavior, ranging from white-collar fraud to terrorism, as well as methods to prevent such behavior.
Criminal justice
Criminal justice encompasses society’s reaction to crime and criminals in terms of laws and includes everything from collecting evidence, making arrests, applying charges, producing accused individuals in court, conducting trials, delivering justice through sentencing, and managing the prison system. In essence, criminal justice is the application of all laws created to address crime and criminals. Students of criminal justice can pursue various careers, such as law enforcement officer, lawyer, attorney, judge, correctional officer, parole and probation officer, or even a private detective or security officer. Criminal justice is not focused on criminal behavior and primarily deals with the existing justice system in a country. As such, students of criminal justice are more interested in law enforcement and justice than in crime or its causes and motives.
Key Takeaways
- Criminal justice is the applied science of law and the judicial system in a country, while criminology is the study of crime and criminal behavior from society’s perspective and the ways to address crime, manage, and reduce its incidence.
- Criminal justice is more concerned with the process of law-making and breaking and providing justice to victims by bringing accused individuals to trial courts and sentencing them, while criminology seeks to understand the motive behind criminal behavior and apply the knowledge gained to reduce crime incidence in society.
- Students of criminal justice can pursue various careers, such as law enforcement officer, lawyer, attorney, judge, correctional officer, parole and probation officer, or even a private detective or security officer, whereas criminology students focus on understanding and predicting criminal behavior and ways to prevent it.
