Chapter 2: History and Evolution of Criminology

Charles F. Wellford

History and evolution of criminology This chapter discusses the origins and development of the discipline of criminology and addresses the questions of where criminology is today and where it is going. In large part, criminology is a history of the ideas that have informed the evolution of criminology and that stand as the intellectual foundation of one of the fastest growing academic disciplines of the last 40 years. 1 No history of criminology can ignore the political forces that impact any attempt to address a set of behaviors that stir so much public concern. Although all science is subject to such influences, it is important to recognize that the object of criminological study, more than most social phenomena, produces public images of crime and criminals and ways to respond to them that can constrain and influence their study. Therefore, a history of criminology must also consider the external influences that ...

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