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Criminologist |
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Description Crimes happen. People rob banks, they hold up stores. People are mugged, attacked and killed. Cars are stolen, homes broken into and children are kidnapped. Some crime is random, some is planned and plotted. Some criminals are desperate, while others are mentally ill. Criminologists are the people who study crimes and criminal behavior. They look for answers to questions like, how does crime affect communities? What are the victims doing years later? How do the police handle serial killers? Why do people commit these crimes? And, most importantly, they try and solve the ancient riddle, how can crime be controlled? Criminologists gather information on crimes and criminal behavior. They look at past crimes, victim statistics and social groups and areas most affected by violence and criminal activity. They look at the country's policing system and the punishments and rehabilitation of convicted criminals. They read reports, studies and statistical analyses written by police officers, lawyers, correctional officers and other criminologists. They interview detectives, criminals and victims. They visit crime scenes, autopsies and courtrooms. They look at the frequency of certain activities, they look for trends and repeat crimes. They try to track crimes and criminal trends over history and come up with conclusions about density, poverty and its effect on people. They look at racism, classism, and other stigmas, and determine the effects these things can have on crime rates. While all criminologists concern themselves with these things, what they actually do with their findings and conclusions depends on where they work, and their training and experience. Criminologists usually specialize in one area, like sociology, psychology or history. They work for the government, and might present their information regarding poverty's effect on crime during restructuring of welfare programs. Some criminologists work with the police force, and help them with community outreach programming. Criminologists may work independently as consultants to community activism groups, and private companies. They are often professors, teaching criminology and psychology to university students, and some work as teachers in community colleges. Criminologists are interested in crime and the criminal mind. Their work is important in controlling not only crime, but regulating the police force, adjusting the criminal justice system, and implementing criminal outreach programs in at-risk communities. |
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Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, 2002, http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_nat.htm |
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