of scientific and systematic study ‘methods and techniques, suited ‘study. The techniques and methods of the nature and peculiar characteristics of to be pursued. Generally, the rule is that ues of a science should be as far as possible objective, tistical, because this approach yields two desirable results, ctitude and certainty. Criminology is a science. Accordingly, it of various scientific procedures and techniques. The techniques of fall into two categories, which are: neral Methods. ‘pecific Methods. eral Methods. As a matter of fact criminology is @ branch of erefore, it employs all methods and techniques used in the study of t the techniques and methods of sociology serve only general to satisfy the special needs and requirements of the science of certain specialised the techniques are needed for As general methods and techniques of sociology, y and effectively meet the nec” end requirements of ized sophisticated techniques have been devised and jar needs of the scientific study of crime. Regarding , the eminent criminologist Sutherland observes ise and scientific than the first.” of criminology:— tt METHODS OF CRIMINOLOGY 17 (2) Statistics of traits and conditions of criminals, @) Individual Case Study Method, (4) Experimental Method, . (6) Study of Criminal in Natural Environs. Now we shall discuss in some detail these various methods one by one. 1. STATISTICS OF CRIME Under this technique we try to establish rather determine the precise relation between crimes and their causes, that is, we try to know what are the peculiar causes of a particular crime. If we can successfully determine or establish the factors which are responsible for a particular crime, we can easily make statistical analysis of the crimes, that is, know the likely incidence of a particular criminal behaviour under @ given set of circumstances. For example, the police ent maintains a file giving an exact record of each criminal noting “~ nature of the crime, the nature of circumstances of committal of crime, the ‘and family background, the reasons of crime and other relevant data. In this way, an attempt is made to correlate crime with peculiar personal and social factors. It is in this way that we leam that besides sexual privation, certain irrational beliefs and superstitions are responsible for the committal of rape. It is falsely believed by some communities that sexual congress with @ minor enates the man. Again the widespread use of narcotics is due to & false belief that man or woman become more sexual, enjoys more, under the spell of dope. In this connection, attempts have been made by various scholars to develop generalized theory of crime by singling out some crucial factor and establish it as the main causal factor in crime. Thus attempts have been made to link crime with the ‘economic conditions of a society, poorer the people, more the crime and vice versa. However, this is obviously farfetched. As a matter of fact the incidence of crime is many times more in highly prosperous countries than in poor country. But it is a fact that poverty is a potent factor in crime. In particular, prostitution is far more widespread among poor than among rich. Another theory that capitalist system of economy encourages crime. For this, statistics are .d with capitalist system countries, the incidence om of expression in capitalist countries whereas the press and other media is strictly state-controlled in the communist nations; therefore, Je out the possibility that statistics put out by communist countries to suit propaganda machinery. factor, the other factors considered responsible for crime are— f Population; a18 CRIMINOLOGY (2) Geography and Climate; (3) Unemployment; (4) Sexual repression and (8) Political System of Government, etc, _ As we have shown above this is an extremely useful method. However, it has some defects to which we now draw attention. __ (i) Lack of Reliable Data. In order to arrive at reliable conclusions about the of crime, it is extremely essential that we should Possess reliable facts and etic about the personal and objective reasons for the commission of ‘crime, but it is not easy to come by such reliable information Particularly the data provided by the police sources is not always reliable. There is a distinct Possibility that police officials may interpret facts rather subjectively so as to Support their pet ideas and theories. They may not deliberately tamper with the facts but twists and turns may be given to them on account of Personal likes and dislikes. For example, police may pad up the evidence in order to glorify its own ‘Tole and may also tamper with the evidence in such a way so as to secure _ conviction of the criminal in the court of law without difficulty. ~ @) Inapplicability sto specific Cases. Another iacuna in the statistical ethod is that its conclusions are general and may not be true in particular cases, ‘unnecessarily biassing judgement of the investigators. For exam ly true; that sex offenders are shy persons, rather low in sex-drive; but means show that hormally-sexed or hyper-sexed individuals are S OF TRAITS AND CONDITIONS OF CRIMINALS lefinite features and specific traits. These pin the Personality of the criminal by For example, a burglar must be mechanical-oriented brain; and a Persons’ sex habits. Resides, in riminal, the physical and social Science of criminology helps us in S what precise role do they play. Does every Which Ste Activated and made manifest and POG ie ithe case tbat no man is born criminal i OG Betts se? The questions like Somparativesmethod techniques are ¢ method, we Study physical and by Comparing these learn the also compare the personality le, it isMETHODS OF CRIMINOLOGY 19 structures of the two sets and also compare the two sets of criminals inter se—those hailing from normal and those coming from broken homes. A comparison of the habits of criminal and other members of his family is also made. Thus, for example, we compare the nymphomania of a lady with the sex habits of her parents, sisters and brothers. Usually, incestuous relations distort the sex life of an individual. By making an exhaustive survey of the traits of criminals certain generalizations are made, Following are the merits and demerits of thek method of statistics of traits and conditions of criminals:— (1) Only @ Prisoner can be considered criminal. In the above mentioned method we try to make a comparative study of the traits of criminals and non-criminals. Obviously, for the purpose of this study, only convicts, that is, persons in jail, having been convicted of offence by a law court, can be taken to be criminals. But, however, no body can maintain that all real offenders get convicted, even detected; nor is it true that all convicts are really guilty. Therefore, a comparison between two sets of persons in jail and not in jail can be misleading to some extent. Under the present Indian conditions, gangsterism, political chicanery, rampant corruption and passivism of general masses are some of the influences which thwart justice. There is a good deal of denial or miscarriage of justice these days. According to Mr. Sutherland, ‘‘Prisoners are a selected group of criminals and an enumeration of traits or conditions of prisoners would, presumably, yield results different from an enumeration of the same traits of conditions of all criminals. This is a difficulty that confronts any method of studying criminals.’ Mr. Sutherland bas very aptly stated the difficulty and defect of the method under review. But he has also further made it clear that the difficulty referred to is not exclusive to this method alone but plagues every methodology of criminology. We may sum up by saying that though the method of Traits and conditions is not fool proof, it is nonetheless very useful and by suitable statistical devices an allowance for possible error can be made. (2) Inadequate and Unreliable Data. It is not easy to obtain facts and ures regarding prisoners easily; and even the information furnished lacks ly in authenticity. Therefore, it is hazardous to generalize on their basis. ily and social background of the prisoners is often shrouded in mystery. criminal operates under pseudonym and tries to cover up his identity by ible means. This is a precondition of a sophisticated crim in majority of cases, it is not possible to make character analysis ofr generalizations ses; on the contrary, they may is unable to perceive the new 10 Sutherland, this method cannot yield use “it does not explain the mechanism by ‘or example , with the help of this method we from broken homes usually take to crime; that in a ncidence of rape is high. But this does not enlighten as n home contributes to criminality. That is this method to What? of a question but is unenlightening on the like How? and Why? In other words, this method is icks explanatory value. Unless we know a thing by its he general rules to specific cases. oncepts. Another difficulty confronted in the use of comparing criminal and non-criminal traits is that the d in this connection are ambiguous or misleading. For “broken home”, “corrupt family environs”, “Sexual iety” are neither precise nor uniform. As a matter of rent connotation for different persons and also varies group, society to society. To adduce but one urse between males or between male and perversion; but according to all medical as it, however repugnant to some, is normal msent and is a source of pleasure. Thus me and will not be regarded perversion, ritten constant, is perverted, because urce of gratification for the vic DY METHOD thoroughgoing investigation sides gathering information onward through personalhi 2 METHODS OF CRIMINOLO¢ Y interviews; an attem, 5 Pt is also evidence. Besides, the relatives aaa feign rapt ae ane Pasion ‘on : criminal are also intervi i Beapcint of Harare Points. Under this method, ddbdtiid nas iisciatwad tare 7 the interviews with friends and Telatives and the stud: y back grounds are of marginal interest and are taken a re relevant to the object of main concern, By the » We try to find out the following— (1) Did the Team Saaear a from emotional trauma? (2) Is he anny ship or ‘ow strong or weak are his moral convictions? (4) What are his sonal explanati i i ore, planations for his behaviour? and (5) Does he like or dislike what he individual case study met Though the individual case study method is very illuminating and gives us insight into the causes of criminal behaviour, it i és etheless, it limitations or defects. There are— Rite naan dae (1) Lack of Objectivity. The chief lacuna of this method is lack of objectivity, that is, fair and impartial record of facts. Every investigator has certain built-in preoccupations or preconceptions about the crime and criminal and these subjective ideas are bound to colour his judgement. Though it is impossible to eliminate the subjective frame work and achieve complete objectivity, neverthless, the subjective influences distort one’s judgement and are defects which must be recognized. Besides the subjective frame work, if the investigator is not a seasoned expert and has a tendency to emotionality, his reports are liable to suffer from sensationalism, exaggerations of some features etc. The example of Charyl Chessman, the mad who fought 14 year-long legal battle to elude death penalty and wrote two or three books in the prison, is a case in point. By many journalists and scientific investigators, he was lionized and made to appear a heroic man fighting social injustice. However, so many of his actions were utterly abominable and out and out sadistic, cruel and senseless. He, for instance, used to force young girls suck him in the car and used to revel the sexual humiliation of many innocents, besides, committing numerous murders. (2) Idealising the Criminal. The investigators involved in the study of case tories are as a rule reformist and are committed to the theory that not the of the criminal but the criminal is truly the victim of social and political lities. They tend to heroize, glorify and idealize the criminal and ignore him. Recently a young girl in U.K. wished to reform the criminals. She with them freely. Two such criminals drove her to a dark alley wheretakes place our hypothesis ‘drop the hypthesis. Thus the in circumstances. However, the ‘caution and may involve unusual things Society. Moreover, there is no single factor but nsible for crime and it is not always possible to y $0. ) many factors simultaneously. Therefore, we may conclude ntal method has rather limited use in criminology. DY OF CRIMINALS IN NATURAL ENVIRONS method, a many-sided investigation of the criminal is made. This rent from all others in this crucial respect. In all other methods, iminals in prisons; but in natural environment study, the criminals nd bars. They are given freedom; only at appointed times they are ertain specific points. The pick- pockets are studied while ctivity of picking pockets. Similarly, the best way to bserve them while carrying on therir trades. How they bargains are struck? What services are performed? ors befriend the prostitutes and thus make intimate jour of prostitutes and their clients. Wherever of obtaining first-hand authentic information tors consort with criminals to study them. ator must associate with them as one of criminals themselves see them. In this j, traits and processes which can hardly by criminologists for studying