1. How Do We Learn What We Know about Crime? Class 1

2. Administrative Give quiz Questions about future quizzes? Any questions about course, assignments, etc.?

3. Review Difference Between Study of Criminology and Study of Criminal Justice Are Most People Law-Abiding

4. Today I. How Does the Public Learn About Crime? II. How Do Criminal Justice Professionals Learn about Crime? III. How Do Social Scientists Learn About Crime? IV. Role of opinions

5. I. How Does the Public Learn about Crime? From the education system From the mass media – News Media – Entertainment Media From the government

6. II. How Do Criminal Justice Professionals Learn About Crime? Learn relatively little from the academic study of crime Learn from stories told by older professionals Learn from personal experience

7. III. How Do Social Scientists Learn About Crime? They approach crime using the scientific method Examples of hypotheses they might investigate What kinds of data might they collect to test those hypotheses?

8. IV. Role of Opinions What are opinions? Opinions about crime When is it appropriate to have an opinion? – Capital Punishment – Longer Prison Sentences – Legalization of Marijuana (or other drugs) – We should have more police on patrol

9. IV. Role of Opinions When is it appropriate to have opinions? – Use of illegally obtained evidence – Gun control – We should do more (or don’t need to do more) to make the criminal justice system treat all groups more equally – We should do more to prevent crime

10. Next Time We begin discussion of Crime Stereotypes and Crime Myths