The American Society of Criminology is one of the best references and sources of information regardless of where an individual lives and what country is maintained as their place of residence. Contrary to the implication in the name of the organization, the American Society of Criminology is actually an international organization that is open to many people. Annually, the organization hosts a general meeting, and topics are discussed that seem appropriate in which everyone can take part. The themes are generally vague, but still give way to important topics. Recently, the meeting has had the theme of “Criminology, Justice and Public Policy in the 21st Century”. Since this type of conversation topic does not limit itself geographically, anyone is free to express their concerns or issues when it comes to these matters, as they feel the public will be affected by them in this coming century.
In addition to offering annual talks for professors, legal minded individuals and other academics interested in the various aspects of criminology, the law and sociological effects as a result of crime, the American Society of Criminology is also geared towards helping these people. There are employment opportunities at the meetings as well, and on their website the American Society of Criminology actively updates their position and employment posting boards. As a result, individuals that are going to be graduating from college with a Criminology degree can find on their website a wealth of information pertaining not only to available jobs and markets, but also a resource in the form of networking with like minded individuals.
Members of the American Society of Criminology are able to enjoy different criminology journals and a newsletter. The reading materials are helpful for all interested parties because they transmit the information that is changing and being expanded on in the legal and criminology arenas, and will often feature segments on various countries around the world. There are some specialized regiments within the Society, and members sometimes interact with each other on these specialized levels. This is again helpful for students looking to break into a specific niche after graduating and those who are particularly interested in specific areas of criminology. One of the main functions of the Society is to educate people and investigate the many ways in which crime, the criminal element and society are related and dependent upon one another in various manners. They are open to all willing individuals and encourage interested parties to join or investigate their organization at any point in time.
Within the Society there is an Executive Board. This is made up of the President, the President Elect, the Immediate past President, as well as the Vice President and the Vice President Elect. Those positions are elected. There are also appointed officers, and these positions are made up of the executive secretary, as well as the treasurer and the editor for one of the Criminology Journals, known as Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Six Executive Counselors are also added to the board. These are the individuals that run the society on the whole; those who form policies, determine the specifics of the Annual Meeting, and ratify the Society’s budget.
While criminology is the scientific study of the interactions that inherently occur between criminals and the public or the criminal elements and society, critical criminology is slightly different. This concept of criminology has a solid foundation in the belief that a singular crime is considered to be criminal due to the historical and social beliefs at the time. For example, one famous illustration of this is that homosexuality was considered to be illegal for individuals in the United Kingdom. This type of interaction between individuals was declared legal for men over 21, but this was not until 1967. Since there is nothing within the act that changed over the years, the only thing that changed was the judicial government at the time and what they believed was morally right or wrong. Overall, there is nothing deemed inherently wrong about the act itself. One of the main questions that individuals interested in critical criminology need to ask themselves whether or not an act is a crime because it is wrong or whether it is merely a crime because someone with the elected power decided to make it so.
Within critical criminology, there are a number of theories that have been formed. Conflict theories were never very popular within the United States, in part due to the fact that during the late 1970’s, when critical criminology was more popular, there were many criminology departments that were closed due to political reasons. Other critical criminologists were concerned that conflict theories did not properly address the different issues that faced society. Critics of conflict theories that exist in criminology maintain that these individuals ignored some important differences in the level of criminal activities between socialist and capitalist societies. Japan and Switzerland are two countries that are socialist in nature, but they have extremely low rates of crime in their countries, as compared to capitalist societies like the United States of America.
In feminist theories, individuals attempt to give another dimension to criminology, in the form of gender. The supporters of these theories are for the most part trying to bring a new form of awareness to the way crime is viewed. Instead of focusing on criminals who are male performing crimes against other males, it is argued that criminologists need to investigate more how the female affects this preconceived approach to crime. Many parties concerned with this type of critical approach to criminology also try to educate other female criminologists. This is important to this group of individuals because too many times, female criminologists will adopt the male perspective and perpetuate the same cycle of applying male concepts on females in the world of crime.
While there are other theories that are applicable in the field of criminology, such as postmodern and peacemaking theories, the conflict and feminist theories are the most prevalent ones within the world of criminology at large. By looking at the way that different theories can be applied to criminology and the different areas that fall under the term, individuals are able to learn more about the society in which they live. Another point that can be explored would be how the criminal relates to the society in which the crime is committed.
