Criminology is the scientific discipline where many technical and humanitarian sciences have been incorporated to serve the public good. It consists of elements of biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, sociology, and many other scientific branches. Each criminological term has a unique meaning that is strikingly different from its counterparts in other disciplines. Therefore, a person wishing to become a specialist in criminal law must know and understand what the various criminological terms mean. Words such as trends and patterns are critical to the discipline. Knowing them gives one an understanding of the basics of criminology and makes further study easier. This paper will explain what trends and patterns in criminal law mean with examples.
Such a term as a trend has a clear definition in criminal law. Experts note that “a crime trend is defined as a significant change in the nature of selected crime types within a defined geographical area and time period” (Crime trend law and legal definition, 2021, para. 1). For example, British criminologists have found a decline in adult victimization in violent crime over the past 20 years (Stripe, 2021). The trend was found in the analysis of crime statistics in England and Wales.
In criminology, patterns refer to crime pattern theory, a conceptual model designed to explain how and why crime occurs and predict it. Patterns here mean variations in the behaviors of both victims and perpetrators and shared and unique circumstances of offenses within one type of crime. Recently, the United States has experienced an outbreak of violent crime, including homicides and aggravated assaults (Hilsenrath, 2020). A common pattern here is that the rise in violent crime has only occurred in large cities.
References
Crime trend law and legal definition.(2021). USLegal. Web.
Hilsenrath, J. (2020). Homicide spike hits most large U.S. cities.The Wall Street Journal. Web.
Stripe, N. (2021). The nature of violent crime in England and Wales: Year ending March 2020. Office for National Statistics. Web.