What makes someone a criminal?Thinking like a social scientist about crime

Vikki BoliverSociology Lecturer

School of Applied Social Sciences

What is crime?

Could you be a criminal?

1. Have you ever bought something that you suspected may have been stolen?

• Have you ever taken anything from your school or workplace (e.g. stationery)?

• Have you taken ‘souvenirs’ from a place you have visited (e.g. when on holiday or a school trip)?

Could you be a criminal?

4. Have you ever found money in the street and kept it?

5. Have you ever left a shop without paying in full for your purchases?

4. Have you ever kept money if you received too much in change?

Is crime a social construct?

Can you think of something that was considered a crime in the past but isn’t anymore?

Can you think of something that is now considered to be a crime but wasn’t in the past?

Is crime a social construct?

Can you think of something that would be considered a crime under certain circumstances but not others?

Can you think of something that we as a society think is very bad but which isn’t considered a crime?

Are criminals made by society?

What are some of the characteristics of the typical prison inmate?

Why is it that people with these characteristics are more likely than others to end up in prison?

What should society do with its criminals?

Is crime necessarily dysfunctional?

Is it possible to have a society with no crime?

Could crime be beneficial for society?

Study for a degree with us @ theSchool of Applied Social Sciences

BA Crim

inology

BA Sociology

BA Anth

ropology &

Sociology

BA Combined H

onours in Socia

l

Science

s

BA Educatio

n Studies

(Socio

logy)