Unless the crimes witnessed resulted in great bodily harm it is my opinion that criminologists do not have a moral obligation to report criminal behavior they’ve witnessed while conducting studies. I believe that that value from being able to witness people in as natural a state as possible can result in deep knowledge and understanding that when applied can have profound benefits to society. The scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior is known as criminology . Because of the potential influence on social policy derived from their research data, a criminologist must be acutely aware of the political and social consequences they can have on millions of people. Society has the potential to be negatively affected depending on what criminologists study, whom they study, and how they go about studying them. When addressing what criminologists study, objectivity is very important. Funding sources that have a vested interest in the outcome of the research is a direct conflict of interest and could later face scrutiny because of it. This not only has the potential to cause financial ramifications for the funding agency but also calls into question the ethics of the criminologist. Examples of funding sources that could have questionable motivations include government and political agencies. This is not to say that viable results cannot be derived from such funding sources but every effort must be maintained to ensure the integrity of the information gathered, how it was processed, and limit their influence over the findings within the study itself. Whom to study is another issue that has the potential to create ethical concerns within a criminologist’s research. Attention is oftentimes focused on the poor and minorities, while simultaneously ignoring white-collar, organized crime, and crimes committed by the government. In their book “The Bell Curve”, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray suggested that “criminals have lower IQ than average citizens and because the average IQ is lower among some minority groups their crime rates are high ”. While the methods utilized in such research are often without merit, it showcases a potential tendency for criminologists to focus on certain segments of society, while ignoring the behaviors of others. Lastly, the research methods utilized by a criminologist can be another area of concern. If we take the book The Bell Curve that was previously mentioned, it would be interesting to determine if participants were told ahead of time that the results of their IQ tests could later be used to determine the racial differences in self-reported crime rates. The information collected as This study resource was shared via CourseHero.com well as the identity of those providing such information should be kept confidential. Therefore, strict recordkeeping practices are imperative. But are there ever times where this practice is unethical? For instance, if a criminologist has prior knowledge of an intended crime but was provided this information in confidence should they report their knowledge to the police? Should stated intentions to commit crimes be disclosed? Ethical questions still linger about how far a criminologist should go to protect their sources. Criminologists, in their study of the origin, extent, and natures of crimes in society, do pose some ethical issues. Knowledge of potential future crimes given under the guise of confidentiality creates ethical grey areas. Whether they choose to report future crimes to police that were given to them confidentially the possible consequences of a criminologist’s actions are enormous. What to study, whom to study, and how to study, are all major areas of concern with regards to criminal logical research data. Ongoing going debates around gun control, capital punishment, and mandatory sentences are complex and contentious. Criminologists must be aware of the ethical issues surrounding their field of study and be prepared to both protect their sources and defend their work.
Resources: 1. Siegel, Larry J. Criminology: the Core. 7th ed., Cengage Learning, 2019
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