Critical Criminology

A school of thought that views crime and deviance as products of social, economic, and political power structures. It challenges the traditional focus on individual pathology and "law and order," arguing that the criminal justice system itself often functions to control disadvantaged populations, protect elite interests, and legitimize inequality. It asks "who defines crime?" and "who benefits from this definition?"

Example: A Critical Criminology analysis of drug policy would not focus on the pharmacology of substances, but on the historical and racialized construction of drug laws, the prison-industrial complex's profit motive, and how policing certain communities for minor possession serves social control while corporate opioid manufacturers face minimal sanction.

Critical Criminology by Nammugal February 5, 2026