HISTORY OF CRIME & HISTORY

Crime has been around since the beginning of time, but the way humanity has approached it has
evolved. Sometimes it is a direct reflection of our priorities and sometimes it is an example of our
humanity at stake. Crime, as we know it today, was not necessarily part of the pre-modern vocabulary
and data on crime was barely collected until the 19th century. Some of the earliest data we have are
already available online. But the evolution of crime and punishment also says a lot about how
humanity has grown and developed.

So when did the crime and punishment start? How has it changed over the centuries? What factors
cause people to commit crimes? In this guide we will answer all of these questions and discuss the
historical background to punishment, from the inhuman to the ethical.

Plato claimed that one of the main reasons people commit crimes is lack of education and wealth.
People who lived in poverty and had no education, probably because they couldn't afford an
education, were more likely to commit crimes, often just to survive. Plato believed that crimes should,
of course, be punished, but the punishment should reflect the degree of guilt rather than the
seriousness of the crime. For example, if a man is caught stealing bread to feed his hungry family, he
should receive less punishment than a man who stole bread just for him/herself.

Criminology is the study of crime, including how and why it occurs. It has been around in one form or
another for thousands of years, but has only recently been labeled and recognized as a legitimate
science.

The chronology of criminology as a practice dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. At
the time, theorists and writers who studied crime and punishment over time made it clear that they
believed everyone had free will, so when they committed a crime, they acted on their behalf. The
punishment for these crimes should reflect the seriousness of the crime itself and should serve to
deter others from committing crimes.

Criminology, as we understand it today, is a branch of sociology. Sociologists study people by studying

their behavior and their environment to understand why they do the things they do. When this
method is applied specifically to crime and criminals, it turns into criminology, which was recognized
as an official branch of sociology in the late 19th century.

How have crime and punishment changed over time? What is the history of the punishment? Why are
crime and punishment essential? These and many more are questions that criminology seeks to
answer.
In the early days of criminology, theorists aimed to find ways to punish crimes without being inhuman
or cruel. Torture as punishment has been widespread in one form or another throughout history, and
early criminologists believed that torture was wrong. They wanted to find new consequences that
were commensurate with the gravity of the crime and yet humane.

Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet was one of the first to study crime statistics, which were first
published in 1872. The statistics were for France, where Quelelet lived as an adult, and they helped
lay the foundation for criminology.

Quetelet was able to identify similarities between criminals, which helped him come up with some
ideas about why certain places have a higher crime rate than others. He also determined the
likelihood of crime based on gender, age, and social status.

he found that young men without education, unemployed and economically insecure were more
likely to become criminals. He also found that most crimes occurred in wealthy neighborhoods that
were close to impoverished ones, suggesting that people from poor neighborhoods went to wealthy
neighborhoods to commit crimes.

Statistics also showed that people who lived in generally low-income areas that were not adjacent to
extremely affluent areas had little crime, suggesting that as long as they can support themselves and
their families without basic necessities, they are less likely to people become inadvertently compared
to criminals with the very rich.

Quetelet concluded that an increase in moral education was needed, which meant breaking down
some of the social conditions that pitted people against each other in favor of an equal society in
which no one went without.