Case Studies Essay
Today, case studies comprise an integral part of the modern criminology. Criminology uses case studies to explore different issues related to the subject of criminology as well as to study the behavior of criminals. In such a situation, the use of case studies can help to understand the current criminal situation and its possible development in the future as well as to elaborate effective methods of prevention of the growth of crime rates, taking into consideration the past experience learned from case studies.
In fact, the use of case studies should focus on both past case studies and modern ones because they help to understand current trends in the development of crimes and behavior of offenders in the past and present. Criminals’ behavior changes and case studies help to understand how and why their behavior changes. In such a situation, it is possible to understand how to prevent the development of crimes.
At the same time, it is possible to refer to the past case studies, which help to trace the evolution of crime. For instance, Sutherland’s The Professional Thief presents the study of criminal activities of “Chic” Conwell, an outstanding thief, who uncovers his “professional” secrets. The study of criminal activities of “Chic” Conwell is very helpful for understanding criminals’ psychology and how they commit their crimes.
At the same time, modern case studies, such as crime styles, are also very helpful. Crimes of Style are truly outstanding for several reasons. Most immediately, Ferrell’s research methodology is extremely unique to modern criminology. Rather than squeezing data out of an existing government publication, or asking faceless would-be criminals to respond to anonymous questionnaires, Ferrell gathered data by entering the field, where he thoroughly immersed himself in a criminal subculture, committing more than a dozen crimes himself as he “participated time and again with graffiti writers in the process of doing graffiti” (Ferrell, 26).
Another example of modern case studies is the study of the Crack house, which helps to understand the life of the poverty stricken neighborhood and drug consumption and trafficking in the inner city of the US. Also, it is possible to refer to American Skinheads: the criminology and control of hate crime by M.S. Hamm, which represents a detailed study of the hate crime and racist organizations in the US focusing on the youth organizations. The study is conducted in the context of the terrorist threat, which racist and supremacist youth organizations can expose the entire society to. The aforementioned modern case studies help to understand how criminals have changed and what new threats criminologists and law enforcement agencies will have to cope with.
At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that case studies use qualitative methods of analysis mainly. Qualitative analysis helps to understand reasons and motives for crimes being committed by offenders, whereas quantitative methods help to reveal major trends in the development of crime, such as the crime rate growth, types of crimes committed, and so on.
Thus, case studies help to understand better the essence of crimes, basic trends in the development of crime and criminals’ behavior. The use of qualitative methods contributes to the better understanding of crime, its reasons and prospects of further development.
