CRIMINOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Science, as we know it today, was a relatively late product of the General

development of human civilization. If you consult history books of the sciences, it is
observed for example that criminology has less than 150 years of existing as such.
Even the car is just over 100 years old. It is incredible that in less than 200 years
humanity has been able to advance in such a way.
It can be said that there are eventually revolutions in the sciences. After the
Renaissance, around the year 1500, and especially in the past one hundred years,
inventions and discoveries of enormous value have been developed in all areas of
life: medical, psychological, psychiatric, engineering, road, and so on. Even the
same evolution has allowed the fusion of sciences. For example, medical
engineering, in which mechanical substitutes are developed for the organs of the
body; criminological technology (chemistry, dentistry, engineering), which develops
chemical compounds and technical tools that reveal the invisible in criminal acts.
We currently depend on science and technology, although we do not always realize
it. Without Science it would be difficult to survive. They have created artificial means
for life, such as microwave ovens, air conditioning, heaters, medicines, laws, diets,
therapies, and so on. Technology creates and studies the tools that allow us to
understand and control the environment that surrounds us; but despite this evolution,
sometimes some social problems run into obstacles that prevent achieving it. For
example, eliminate crime, mental disorders, AIDS or cancer, among others.
Returning to the historical theme, before the modern period there was a scientific
tradition different from that of the philosophers, on the one hand, and that of the
artisans, on the other. However, the roots of science extend very deeply: they reach
a period before the emergence of civilization. As much as we go back in history,
there were always some techniques, facts and conceptions that can be described
as scientific.
Thus, according to De la Torre et al. (2003), science had its historical roots in two
main sources. First, the technical tradition, in which experiences and practical skills
were transmitted and developed from one generation to another. Second, the
spiritual tradition, in which human ideas and aspirations grew and communicated.
Such traditions existed before civilization appeared, as we can deduce from the
continuity in the development of the tools used by Stone Age humans, and by their
training practices, in addition to their prehistoric paintings. In the Bronze Age
civilizations (period in which the utensils used were bronze, and which appeared
after the age of copper and before the age of iron), both traditions seem to have
been largely separated, immortalized by a part thanks to the craftsmen and on the
other to the corporations of priestly officials.

In the subsequent civilizations, both traditions remained separate, although they

differed. The philosopher separated from the priest, and the craftsman's office from
other trades. Occasional approaches were made; but only towards the end of the
Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times was that the elements of both
traditions began to approach, combining later and producing a new tradition: the
scientific one. The development of science became more integral, and by containing
both practical and theoretical elements, science produced results that possessed not
only technical but also philosophical applications. In this way, science surpassed its
own sources, exerted its influence on them, and undoubtedly ended up making its
effects felt in domains far removed from their immediate origins. Science had
transcended.

ORIGINS OF CRIMINOLOGICAL SCIENCE

From the above it is concluded that science is a set of theoretical and practical
knowledge that is transmitted, grow and change from one generation to another.
Criminological science, the subject that concerns us here, is similarly a set of
theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the study of crime, criminality and
crime, as well as the prevention of these.

It is important to differentiate or emphasize the theoretical and the practical. It is

considered that to all practical science precedes a theoretical science; that is, to be
able to carry out something, to apply knowledge, it is necessary previously to have
obtained it. At the moment of taking it to praxis, it is said that the technique of what
has been learned is being done. In a reciprocal way, the theory feeds on the
knowledge obtained in practice; thus, we get a feedback of theoretical and practical
knowledge. In criminology, the body of theoretical knowledge refers to crime,
criminality and criminality, and the part in which this knowledge is applied is called
criminological policy and clinical criminology, among other branches. In them,
criminological theories are put into practice to study the causes of crime and achieve
its prevention.
Most of the writers agree that criminology was born in 1871 in Italy, with the studies
developed by César Lombroso (doctor), Enrico Ferri (sociologist) and Rafael
Garófalo (lawyer), known as "the three apostles" and precursors of the criminology.
Thanks to the studies carried out with the criminals of the time, Lombroso is
considered the father of criminology, Ferri as the father of criminal sociology, and
Garófalo as the one who popularized
The term "criminology", in addition to conducting studies of the personality of the
offender.
Criminology is supported by various sciences that provide elements for the total
understanding of criminal behavior. Sociology brings together the knowledge of
crime, the forms of crime and the factors that influence the masses. Psychology
addresses the internal problems of the subjects that lead them to be antisocial, in
what way their childhood development has contributed to their criminality in
adolescence or adulthood, the social causes of this, and observes which are the
most serious and register them in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders. These disorders are studied in criminology, especially antisocial
personality disorder (Hikal, 2008). Criminal law, after study, indicates which
behaviors are considered more serious; crimes established in a penal code.
The history of the world goes hand in hand with the history of crime. From this
relationship arises the science of criminology, which seeks to know the causes for
which a crime has been committed. Clinical criminology deals with the study of the
criminal in particular, through an exhaustive study of each particular case and
considering the human being as a biological, psychological and social being.
As one of the forerunners of criminology, Rafael Garófalo, mentions, crime has
always existed, in all societies and at all times, and is evolving: as societies change,
new forms of crime and antisocial behavior develop.
Enrico Ferri also pointed out that evil has always existed and will always exist.
Therefore, it is considered that crime will never be eliminated; it would be like thinking
that the diseases will end someday because there are more doctors. Diseases can
be controlled or cured, but they will never end; even, every time, new bacteria,
viruses and other pathogens are discovered. The same goes for criminality: it will
never disappear, but it can be controlled or diminished. And along with criminal
behavior, whether individual or group, comes the interest and concern of humanity
to prevent or avoid them, to legislate, punish and thus control crime. And there is
also the curiosity to explain the causes of the antisocial phenomenon that has been
destroying and transforming humanity.

Hence the birth of criminology to know, explain and avoid the causes of crime.
Rodríguez Manzanera (2003) points out that the history of criminology is the
chronological account of the ideas that purport to explain the criminal, crime and
criminality. Criminology was originally born from anthropology, with studies that
established that the criminal has physical or bodily characteristics that reveal him as
such, as well as cultural characteristics such as language, customs, etc. .; of
psychology, considering the study of the danger and adaptability, which are basic in
the prison system, because based on these the prison treatment is established; and
of sociology, by the influence exerted by the social environment on subjects.
Alejandro Laccassagne thought that a society has the criminals it deserves, and
points out this because each society has its type of criminality. In some there is more
theft; in others violent behavior predominates, there is more antisociality, more
vague, and it is found that society is the one that leads people to be in such a way,
due to lacks, demands or excesses. From these sciences, science is created that
brings together the knowledge of all these disciplines; for this reason, criminology is
considered a synthetic science.

AFFIRMATION OF CRIMINOLOGY AS SCIENCE

The scientific nature of criminology has been much discussed. There are those who
consider it a science; others consider it pseudoscience, or a working hypothesis. It
is not intended here to enter into that debate, because we consider that its scientific
nature has already been treated and verified by important scholars of academic
weight, in studies and written publications, as Marco Antonio Leija (2004) points out,
by criminological researchers of recognized intellectual solvency . To mention a few:
Gutiérrez Sáenz (2002), Carlos Elbert (1996), Osvaldo Tieghi (2004), César Herrero
(1997), Quiroz Cuarón (1999), Márquez Piñero (1999), Orellana Wiarco (2007),
Parmelee (1925) , Zaffaroni (2003), Alessandro Baratta (2004) and Carrancá y Rivas
(2001), among many other Latinos and Europeans who dedicate themselves to
"criminological poetry"
In the beginning, every discipline has difficulties to be accepted. Criminology is not
the exception. Psychiatry, for example, was considered an auxiliary and vague
discipline, and was not accepted as a science and less as a subject of study. In its
beginnings it was taken as an optional subject in medical school. Psychology, in its
beginnings, was also rejected. In fact, the term psyche means "mind" or "soul": "how
to study the mind, if it can not be observed?" Said its critics. But later it was accepted,
and now it has a great presence, just like psychiatry. Of course, a rejection persists
in the sense that people who ignore it think that it is only for the crazy. Similarly,
criminology is considered to be "the science for the dead."
Criminology, as a science, adapts to the "real science" scheme proposed by Mario
Bunge (1960), because it meets the characteristics that this author demands: it is
real; it is derived from the facts; it is open; it is ordered; his research is methodical;
it is specialized; it is explanatory; it is revisable; it is clear and precise; It is useful; it
is communicable; It's universal; it is regulatory, and it is predictive.
According to Julio Zazzali (2007), any discipline that pretends to be considered
scientific should investigate, order concepts and, among other things, build
classifications. Below is explained each of these characteristics (which can be
verified through the scientific method) of criminology as a science, according to
Rodríguez Manzanera (2003) and
Mario Bunge (1960):

a) Criminology is real: part of the antisocial and criminal facts, and always returns to
them to discover new events.

b) Criminology is derived from the facts: it analyzes them, eliminates some, accepts
others, and explains them. He must describe them, compare them through
comparative criminology, and thus elaborate theories. This includes the reason for
antisocial behavior, which, although not considered as crimes, also affects society
in a certain way. These behaviors must first be described, and then try to resolve
them.

c) Criminology is open: knowledge is not limited; classifies, studies, rejects, accepts

and corrects theories, unlike other sciences that close. On the contrary, it will take
all knowledge that provides some model of solution, to feed on such judgment. For
example, the law does not accept the study of the antisocial personality: what
matters is to punish the crime committed, and is not interested in knowing its causes

d) Criminology is orderly: in criminological research, different problems are studied

and an attempt is made to discover all the elements that make them up, and
considers in turn the relationship between these elements in order to be part of a
whole. The acquired criminological knowledge is again studied and ordered logically.
The notions about our natural and social environment, or about the mental, are not
final, but are in constant movement; new information will always emerge, which must
be recorded with order.

e) Criminological research is methodical: the studies carried out by criminology use

the scientific method, composed of several techniques, which may vary according to
the object studied.

f) Criminological research is specialized: criminology is cultivated in the object (or

subject) of study. He is interested in describing it: crime, criminality and crime, as
well as victim, are studied and described. The more you analyze, the more
criminology feeds; There will always be something new to discover.

g) Criminology is explanatory: describes, classifies and explains the facts based on

previously established laws, and if not, creates them. Hence the importance of
specialization, for the criminologist to develop their own theories.

h) Criminology is revisable: its affirmations must be verified through observation or

experimentation. Hence, the scientific method is used in its processes: observe,
describe, propose tentative answers, experiment (or verify), and formulate theories.

i) Criminology is clear and precise: the objects of study can be very varied, but the
explanation is clear and precise.

j) Criminology is useful: like any other science, look for the truth. Criminology
provides tools to know mental truth through the psychological area, and material
truth through criminology. In this accumulation of knowledge the legislator must be
based to create laws and public policies.

k) Criminology is communicable: criminological knowledge is not private; they are

available to everyone. This makes its diffusion possible, thanks to the clarity and
precision with which the phenomena are described.

l) Criminology is universal: because it places the facts in general models through

comparative criminology (criminological rules of general observance). This whole
body of notions is called the "science of criminology."

m) Criminology is regulatory: all facts are classified based on scientific rules.

n) Criminology is predictive: it can tell how events could have been in the past,
knowing their development, and also anticipating them; that is, describe them in the
future to make a forecast or achieve prevention. By knowing the past behavior, future
behavior can be predicted, although this does not imply that the results will always
be exact, since it may vary from time to time or situation. You have to take into
account the
Variety and the dynamics of the facts.

In addition to the above, there are other ways to determine the scientific nature of
criminology. Thus, for example, Rafael Márquez Piñero (1999) points out that
criminology is a science because it meets the requirements for it:

a) object of study well determined;

b) research method;
c) knowledge set; Y
d) systematization of said knowledge.

In the work of the mentioned author, it is further indicated that, nevertheless,

scientific knowledge must be verifiable; that is, they have to pass the proof of their
verification by various researchers, who must conclude that the belief in knowledge
is justified. Now, as we know, in the case of social sciences, certainty implies
probability and not security. Therefore, it should be clarified that criminology is not
an exact science.
There are authors who point out that a discipline is scientific when it has its own
object of study. On the other hand, there are those who determine that the scientific
character is obtained thanks to the method; for example, Sergio García Ramírez or
Wilhem Wundt, who took care of giving the scientific character to psychology through
tests of behavior measurement, as well as stimuli and responses. For its part,
Orellana Wiarco (2007) points out the requirements that are required for a set of
knowledge to have scientific status, and determines if criminology meets them:
object, method and purpose. Thus, he points out that science is a system or set of
knowledge ordered, systematized,
True or probable, that have been obtained methodically, about the phenomena and
processes that occur in nature, society or thought.
Scientific knowledge can also be achieved in accordance with the methodological
rules of Eli de Gortari, for which the method comprises three phases:

An inquirer, of discovery of new objective processes or of new aspects of the already

known processes. Other

Demonstration phase, of rational connection between the acquired results and the
experimental verification of them. And one

Third expository phase, in which the results are affirmed to serve as material for new
research and to communicate the acquired knowledge to others. to others the
knowledge acquired.

DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND CRIMINOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY

At present no one doubts the effectiveness of scientific explanations to face and

solve
the problems of social life. Practically everyone is accustomed to think of scientific
explanations as solutions that are characterized by providing an interpretation of
natural or social phenomena from the principles of causality. The explanation
appears as a discovery of cause-effect relationships, and as the establishment of
the mechanism that governs the production of a phenomenon from itself. In other
words,
To solve a problem we must establish what produces it and the mechanism that will
allow us to modify the situation.
The purpose of scientific understanding in our time is to guide us in our relationships
with the world and with other beings, empowering us to interact with nature and take
advantage of its resources, and transforming it according to its operating principles.
This is what is expected from the work of scientists and professionals. The student
of criminology must take responsibility for the development of science and
technology
not only for economic satisfaction, but their work must transcend, developing new
ways to prevent crime, new theories, new criminological techniques. All this in order
to place your country at the levels of development that allow it to be placed on the
international standard.
What is the situation in Mexico regarding criminological development? The National
Institute of Criminal Sciences is the most important creator of teachers and doctors
in criminological, victimological and criminal sciences, the development of the best
courses at a national level, as well as publications and research of international level.
It is necessary to point out the pioneer institution that established the first degree in
Criminology in Mexico: the old School of Criminology
of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, today Faculty of Law and Criminology,
which
Despite its lamentable scientific interruption, it undoubtedly continues to have
students, professors and publications of transcendence.