Did you know?
Criminology includes the study of all aspects of crime and law enforcement—criminal psychology, the social setting of crime, prohibition and prevention, investigation and detection, capture and punishment. Thus, many of the people involved—legislators, social workers, probation officers, judges, etc.—could possibly be considered criminologists, though the word usually refers only to scholars and researchers.
Examples of criminology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
However, there are trends among school shooters in general, says Jillian Peterson, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University who studies mass shootings.
—
Meg Anderson, NPR, 19 Dec. 2024
There’s much more to be learned, but evidence revealed in the case so far suggests the suspect may have been driven by ideological factors reaching far beyond any personal grievances, criminology experts told The Sun.
—Brooke Conrad, Baltimore Sun, 11 Dec. 2024
Ross also litters the film with historical context, cutting in everything from old photographs of enslaved people to footage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches to clips of Bertillon's questionable criminology method of anthropometry.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2024
With a change in leadership at the federal level, CTU is under pressure to stabilize its membership, said David Stovall, professor of Black studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois Chicago.
—Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminology 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Meg Anderson, NPR, 19 Dec. 2024
There’s much more to be learned, but evidence revealed in the case so far suggests the suspect may have been driven by ideological factors reaching far beyond any personal grievances, criminology experts told The Sun.
—Brooke Conrad, Baltimore Sun, 11 Dec. 2024
Ross also litters the film with historical context, cutting in everything from old photographs of enslaved people to footage of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches to clips of Bertillon's questionable criminology method of anthropometry.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2024
With a change in leadership at the federal level, CTU is under pressure to stabilize its membership, said David Stovall, professor of Black studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois Chicago.
—Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminology
Dictionary Entries Near criminology
Cite this Entry
“Criminology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criminology. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
criminology
noun
crim·i·nol·o·gy
ˌkrim-ə-ˈnäl-ə-jē 
: a scientific study of crime, of criminals, and of their punishment or correction
Medical Definition
Legal Definition
criminology
noun
crim·i·nol·o·gy
ˌkri-mə-ˈnä-lə-jē
: the scientific study of crime as a social phenomenon, of criminals, and of penal treatment
criminologically
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share