History of Criminology

Exploring the History of Criminology

To many people interested in the roots and origin of Criminology, Lombroso is considered to be the father of the science, meaning that he explored it and examined it from many angles in order to expose it.  It was first used by a law professor in Italy, Raffaele Garofalo, who actually used the Italian term for the word, criminologia.  A French anthropologist also used the term around the same time as Garofalo, who referred to the term as criminology.  There are some who believe that it is possible that the study of bumps on an individual’s skull, referred to as Phrenology, is a better mark of representation when it comes to the scientific origins of the term.  Lombroso is considered to be the father of criminology because of the many advances that he attempted to make in the field.  If not for him, criminology might not be as developed as it is today.