The scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, and the criminal justice system.
Coined in the 1890s from Latin 'crimen' (crime) and Greek 'logos' (study). The field emerged during the late 19th century as scholars began applying scientific methods to understand criminal behavior systematically.
Modern criminology owes much to Cesare Lombroso's controversial 19th-century theory that criminals could be identified by physical features - completely debunked now, but it launched the scientific approach to crime study. Today's criminologists use everything from brain scans to big data analytics to understand why people commit crimes.
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