Crime is a necessary evil. The interests of criminologists include the study of nature of crime and criminals, origins of criminal law, etiology of crime, social reactions to crime, and the functioning of law-enforcement agencies and penal institutions.

It can be said that broadly criminology directs its enquiries along three lines: first, it investigates the nature of criminal law and its administration and conditions under which it develops; second, it analyses the causation of crime and the personality of criminals; and third, it studies the control of crime and the rehabilitation of offenders.

Whether criminology is a science?

Several times the question arises whether criminology is a science? No universal answer to this question could have been given till today. Some criminologists treat it as a science while others do not.

Science is a systematic study of any subject. In, it relationships is established between causes and consequences.

Science has three characteristics –

(a) Systematic study of any subject

(b) The capacity to establish relationship between causes and consequences.

(c) The certainty and universality of principles.

On the basis of above characteristics, Michael does not consider it as science and according to his opinion it cannot be science in any way.

Scope of study of Criminology

The following things are studied under criminology

1 What is crime?

2 Why crimes are committed?

3 Why the internal conscience of a man becomes criminal?

4 How one can reach from the point of crime to criminal?

5 How crimes can be prevented?