How Can Social Science Theory Help Reduce Crime

Social Science is a very diverse subject, it covers all aspects of society. It makes sense of various phenomenon that takes place within society. It is divided into many sub-categories such as psychology, sociology, anthropology and criminology. It’s study affects all aspects of society. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how social science theory , specifically criminology can help reduce crime. Criminology & Penology is the branch of social science that deals with occurrences of crime, their causes and their consequences. It is the study of crime within society. In society an activity that occurs outside the boundaries of the law, is considered to be a crime. “Crime” in society varies by perspective. For example, German criminologists might look at an abortion as a criminal offence, whereas Chinese criminologists look at abortions as conform behavior. Whether a society looks at an activity as a crime or not, depends on it’s laws, and values. “Since "crime" is a matter of judgment, it is necessary that analysis is concerned with the interpretations and definitions of situations and actions. This analysis is not possible with quantitative methods. The inquiry of "crime" is inseparably tied to the analysis of social control through (mainly) criminal law and its institutionalized practices (police, public prosecution, court, prison etc.) of segmentation, typifying, classification and judgment. "Crime" is constituted through the definitions of situations that are negotiated between different parties (offender, victim, witness, policeman, judge etc.) in processes of social interaction. These definitions determine if an incident is noticed, if it is registered as a case, and if the case is classified as "criminal" on its way through the criminal justice institutions.”(http://www.qualitativeresearch.net/index.php/fqs/article/ view/1119/2484) It has been shown that the economic status of an area is indirectly proportional to the crime rate in that