Crime has always aroused fascination and morbid attention.  The media,
movies and even books feed upon it and the horror of blood spilled is
perhaps matched only by the foreboding curiosity towards the offender.
The question of what is crime, who is a criminal and how to control
criminal behavior has major relevance to our society.  The objective
of this course is to understand crime trends and the nature and causes
of criminal behavior.  In this course we will focus upon the
definition of crime, its relationship with law and the factors,
circumstances or conditions that influence individuals or groups to
get involved in law violating behavior.
We will begin by understanding the problem of the measurement of crime
and explore the trends both spatially and temporarily.  Thereafter, we
will examine the biogenetic, psychiatric and psychological
explanations of criminal and deviant behavior and give special
attention to the hypothesized links between criminality and genetics,
physiology, mental disorders, personality and moral development.  We
will next survey those accounts for criminal behavior that examine the
sociological perspectives of both individuals and groups.  These will
include anomie, strain, control, sub-cultural ecological, group
conflict, functionalist and critical theories.  Finally, we will
examine some of the specific types of criminal behavior and
investigate how opportunity shapes and facilitates criminal
incidents.  We will look at some of the environmental factors that
could impede such harmful behavior too.

Required Texts:
	George B. Vold and Thomas J. Bernard, "Theoretical
Criminology", 4rd edition.
	Marcus Felson, "Crime and Everyday Life", 2nd edition.
	Reference will be made to a set of readings on some special
topics too.

Evaluation:
Mid-Term Examination (multiple choice) 25%
Class Participation 5%
Essay Examination (take home) 30%
Final Examination (multiple choice & short answers) 40%

Class Meeting:  11:30A - 12:20P, Daily, SY001

Instructor:     Professor Arvind Verma, Criminal Justice Department