CSS Solved Criminology Past Paper CSS 2025 | The Scope of Criminology and Its Significance in Pakistani Society
Question Breakdown
In this question, the examiner inquired about the scope of criminology and its importance in Pakistani society. The above query comprises two main parts that require explanation: the scope of criminology and the significance of criminology in Pakistani society. Aspirants should start their answer by defining criminology and explaining its scope. Then, the role of criminology in Pakistani society should be described. Addition of scholarly references, definitions and examples will make the answer outstanding. Moreover, flow charts, diagrams, tables and relevant quotations can further ameliorate the quality of the answer.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Defining Criminology
3-Scope of Criminology
- ✓Study of Criminal Law
- ✓Study of Forensics
- ✓Study of Criminal Investigation
- ✓Scope of Criminology in Academia
4-Significance of Criminology in Pakistani society
- ✓Understanding the Underlying Causes of Crime
- ✓Strengthening Law and Order
- ✓Eliminating Gender-Based Violence
- ✓Countering Terrorism
- ✓Minimizing White Collar Crimes
- ✓Ameliorating Juvenile Justice System of Pakistan
- ✓Protecting Human Rights
- ✓Preventing Cybercrimes and Ensuring Cyber Security
5-Critical Analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Criminology is the youngest, most dynamic, and fascinating field of study of crime and criminals. It is multidisciplinary as it examines criminal behavior and social and legal responses by applying scientific methods. Coleman and Norris believe that criminology analyses the nature of crime, causes of crime, formation of criminal law, enforcement of law and how crime can be controlled. It is developed through different schools, such as pre-classical, classical, upbeat, sociological, neoclassical, modern, and Islamic schools of thought. The scope of criminology includes studying various forms, nature, causes, motives, positions, attributes, and elements of crime, as well as workings and problems in the criminal justice system, the police, and prison systems. It is a new emerging field that encompasses terrorism, forensic science, criminal investigation, and strategic studies, as it provides a situation analysis of crime. In Pakistan, criminology holds great significance for law enforcement, strengthening legal reforms and the juvenile justice system, protecting human rights, minimizing white collar crimes and understanding the root causes of crimes. According to Justice Krishna Iyer,
“Criminology is a special field of knowledge, systematic discipline, nidus of criminal law on the sociological plane, dealing with crime and deviance and those individuals who violate law, how they are arrested, how they are prosecuted, how they are convicted, how they are put in prison, how they are trialed.”
Defining Criminology
Criminology emerged as a subject in the nineteenth century. It is a Latin expression and the word combines two words; ‘crimen’ which means ‘accusation’ and ‘ologia’ which means ‘theory or philosophy’. The term ‘criminologia’ was coined by Raffaele Graffalo in 1885 and ‘criminologie’ was coined by Paul Topinard in 1887. By criminology, they meant the science whose purpose is to discover the causes of crime and the study of criminality with its entirety. According to Elliott,
“Criminology is the scientific study of crime and its treatment.”
Sage dictionary defines criminology as, “The study of crime, an attempt to it, an attitude to it.”
In addition, according to Sutherland, “Criminology is the process of law making, law breaking and reacting towards law breaking.” Furthermore, Donald Taft defines criminology as, “A modern youngest discipline. Its contents are analyzing causes of crimes, explaining theories of crimes, motives and elements of crime and preventive strategies for combating new emerging crimes.”
Scope of Criminology
The scope of criminology has increased due to emerging crimes, cybercrimes, scandals, frauds, deceptions and white collar crimes. It includes penal policies, the parole and probation system, as well as the study of criminal law, forensics and criminal investigation. In Pakistan, the scope of criminology has increased due to the increased rate of crime and because of wealth, women and land, as these are the primary reasons for most crimes. According to Donald Taft,
“Criminology offers a background for professionals and opportunity for policy makers, academicians, researchers, judges, jurors, crime analysts, legalists in pursuit of understanding crime and criminal behavior and enhancing their professional skills. They need a perfect and sound knowledge of criminology.”
Figure 1: Scope of Criminology
- Study of Criminal Law
The scope of criminology focuses on the origin of criminal law, the causes of crimes and explanations of crime. Moreover, it deals with law making in Pakistan (Article 71-75), law breaking (criminals and their types) and reacting towards law breaking (minimum and maximum punishments, criminal courts, anti-terrorism courts, custom courts, narcotics courts, FIA courts, session courts, NAB courts and juvenile courts etc.). George Bernard Shaw is of the notion that,
“If you are going to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and men are not improved by injuries.”
According to Sutherland, criminology is the scientific study of criminal behavior and the criminal justice system along with the creation, violation and enforcement of laws. Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 is studied by criminologists of Pakistan in order to deal with cybercrime.
- Study of Forensics
Criminology is the fastest growing subject across the globe, which holds great significance. The scope of criminology consists of comparative forensic criminology, international and cross-cultural criminology, penology, juvenile crime and the prison system. New orientation is envisioned in the field of study of criminology. Governments across the globe take various steps, for example, Pakistan Journal of Criminology, Pakistan Society of Criminology and Punjab Forensic Lab 2009 are a few such initiatives. According to the Rational Choice Theory, there are fewer chances of criminal activities if forensic technology increases the risk of being caught. In Pakistan, Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) is established in order to collect and examine physical evidence, investigate cybercrimes and conduct DNA analysis, etc., to reach the culprit.
- Study of Criminal Investigation
The scope of criminology also deals with the study of criminal investigation, which is an art as well as a science of finding or digging out the truth in criminal activities of suspects. According to Curzon,
“Criminal investigation is a legal process which aims at finding out the culprit and collecting evidence.”
Theories of criminology, such as Strain Theory by Robert K. Merton, help in understanding the root causes of criminal behavior, thus refining the investigation of crime. Criminological principles also explain techniques of criminal investigation like interrogation, interview and surveillance. In the contemporary era, criminal investigations rely on advanced technology and digital evidence as indicated by Interpol.
- Scope of Criminology in Academia
Criminology is a multidisciplinary discipline gaining prominence within the country due to increased criminal activities, terrorism and security issues. Leading government, semi-government and private universities such as University of Karachi, Punjab University, Quaid-e-Azam University, University of Sindh, Jamshoro and National Defense University are introducing criminology as a department and subject in Bachelors, MPhil and PhD programs. Moreover, Central Superior Services (CSS) exams have also introduced criminology as an optional subject in 2016.
Significance of Criminology in Pakistani Society
Criminology is the scientific study of criminal behavior, which plays a substantial role in formulating policies and enforcing law within a state. Pakistan is facing a myriad of challenges due to which an increasing crime rate is envisioned within the country. Therefore, criminology is important in Pakistani society for understanding the root causes of those crimes and dealing with them.
- Understanding the Underlying Causes of Crime
Various perspectives of criminology explain the causes of crime. For instance, in the classical school of thought, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham have highlighted that man is a rational being who commits crime after doing cost and benefit analysis. In addition, the biological perspective of criminology by Cesare Lombroso delineates that an individual’s physical and psychological characteristics depict their criminal behavior. In 2023, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics unveiled that the key factors causing crime in Pakistan are poverty and unemployment because 39.4% of people are living below the poverty line.
- Strengthening Law and Order
Criminology is the study of crime and its treatment, which helps in improving the strategies of policing and judicial processes of Pakistan. Furthermore, forensic science and modern techniques are introduced by criminology in order to eradicate crimes. For instance, Eagle Squad was launched in Punjab in 2023, which is based on Artificial Intelligence and reduces street crime by tracking criminals.
- Eliminating Gender-Based Violence
According to the Power and Control Wheel Theory, perpetrators practice violence to control their partners. In Pakistan, 34% of women are victims of domestic violence as indicated by the Human Rights Watch in 2023. The sociological perspective of criminology explains various causes of domestic violence and strategies to eradicate it.
- Countering Terrorism
With the resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan, criminological approaches to combat terrorist threats are crucial in Pakistan. In criminology, radical behaviors are studied along with ways to reform them in rehabilitation centers. In 2022, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) of Pakistan introduced a rehabilitation program for youngsters with radical behavior in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that helped in reducing radicalization by 30%.
- Minimizing White Collar Crimes
According to Transparency International, Pakistan ranks at 133 position in the Corruption Perception Index. Rampant corruption is a considerable challenge in Pakistan, leading to institutional weakness and socio-economic and political instability. Criminology assists in detecting financial fraud committed by officials with white collar jobs, government officials and corporations.
- Ameliorating Juvenile Justice System of Pakistan
The causes of juvenile delinquency and problems of the juvenile justice system are understood by criminology. Pakistan ranks at 6th position in terms of juvenile delinquency and child marriages. Criminology puts forth the necessity of education and skill development of youth in order to transform their behaviors from destructive to constructive. For example, rehabilitation centers were established for juvenile offenders through the Sindh Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, which helped in reducing recidivism by 15%.
- Protecting Human Rights
Criminology helps in understanding criminal behavior, ensuring impartiality in criminal investigations and focusing on rehabilitation and reconciliation. According to Labelling theory, individuals commit crime when they are labelled as criminals. Criminology is the scientific study that prevents stigmatizations of innocent individuals as well as occasional criminals.
- Preventing Cybercrimes and Ensuring Cyber Security
Cybercrimes like financial fraud, harassment and identity theft are prevalent due to the excessive use of the internet. In 2023, Pakistan had recorded over one lakh cybercrime complaints that were 30% more than those in 2022. The scope of criminology includes cyber forensics and strengthening cyber security in order to solve cybercrimes, create awareness among people and ensure strict punishments for cybercriminals.
Critical Analysis
According to the historical practitioners like C. Beccaria and Feri and contemporary ones like Bartol and Cornwell, criminology is a science which includes the study of nature, extent, cause and control of crime. Criminology is considered as a social science which teaches about the treatment and rehabilitation of criminals. It is an interdisciplinary field encompassing the study of root causes of crime along with the theoretical explanations of criminal behavior such as Strain Theory by Robert K. Merton and Social Disorganization Theory, etc. The multidisciplinary approach in criminology allows it to acquire knowledge from other related sciences like sociology, anthropology and psychology, etc. It assists in bridging the gap between understanding causes of criminal behavior and effective implementation of measures to eradicate the issues. In the contemporary era, growing challenges like cybercrime and organized crime in Pakistan can only be addressed through investigative techniques delineated through criminology. Various academic institutions as well as the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam have incorporated criminology as a subject. Though de-radicalization programs introduced through criminology help in countering terrorism in Pakistan, however, increased cybercrimes require specialized training and research to prevent financial fraud, cyberbullying and online harassment. Moreover, criminology graduates can be recruited in police departments, academia and non-governmental organizations to deal with gender-based crimes, counter terrorism and assist in criminal investigations.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, criminology is the science of crime, criminals and their punishments. The discipline emerged in the twentieth century, however, it has refined and evolved due to scholars’ endeavours throughout these years. Its main focus is practical application; for this purpose, it has made contributions to the criminal justice system. The scope of criminology has increased with the increased crime rate, and it deals with the study of criminal law, forensic technology, and criminal investigation. Developing countries like Pakistan ought to adopt criminology approaches to eradicate crimes, protect human rights, and ensure cyber security. Criminology encompasses everything from law-making to violation of laws and collecting evidence to find the culprit. In his work “Principles of Criminology”, Sutherland delineates,
“Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes in its scope the process of law making, law breaking and reacting towards law breaking.”
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