Criminology - sociology -philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology - sociology -philosophy - Essay Example match to Phillipson, traditional criminology fails to understand criminal law. The subject matter of criminology is defined by non-criminologists thus placing limits on the check into (Phillipson4). Even though criminology is acknowledged as the study of detestation and criminals, it fails to understand criminal law beca white plague sorts of behaviours that are branded as crimes and the people who are convicted as criminals emerge out of social processes which are freelancer of the professional criminologists activities (Phillipson3).. Traditional criminology, therefore, has his subject matter given to him through the societys formal definitions of crime (illegal behaviours). It is also the society that identifies the individuals who commit criminal acts and not criminal law. In addition, traditional criminology has been a ruin because legal definitions of what is a criminal behaviour vary within any society (Phillipson6).. This is because what is regarded asa crime in agivensociety may not be in some other because different societies have different definitions of criminal behaviours. For instance, some societies accept homosexual behaviour, gambling and drug use while others consider them criminal offenses. This, therefore, means that there is no one universal behaviour that is of all time and everywhere criminal because societies reactions to crime change with regards to time and place (Phillipson5).Traditional criminology has ignored social processes upon which criminal law is made. It however rests upon an implicit acceptance of the legal status quo. This unquestioning acceptance of upheld values limit the questions criminologists ask as well as the answers they get from questions relating to the causes of crimes (Phillipson7). This restricts the focus of traditional criminology in search of causes to individuals who were formally convicted of criminal offences. The limited vision of