A Day in the Life of a Criminologist

Karen Betit is a criminologist working for local law enforcement in a major city. She compiles, organizes, and interprets data about the neighborhoods within her police department’s jurisdiction, then helps them use the information to develop strategies for dealing with crime in those areas

“I’d say this job is about half statistics and half psychology,” Karen says. “First you gather all the available information and look for patterns. Then you have to ask and answer your own difficult questions about those patterns. What’s going on in the neighborhood socially and economically? Is there a certain age group that’s getting in trouble? What might be causing that? The answers are rarely simple.”

A Day in the Life of a Criminologist

6:25 a.m. Karen’s day begins with a manila folder full of reports on a specific neighborhood where the crime rate has grown at an alarming rate over the past six months. “Looks like the neighborhood’s reaching a very negative tipping point,” Karen says. “Consistent rise in burglaries, and a spike in assaults and homicides during the past six months. If we want to salvage what’s left of this community and prevent it from continuing this downward spiral, we’ll need to figure out what’s going on.”

Karen continues to study statistics and crime scene reports from the afflicted neighborhood.

9:00 a.m. Karen seeks out more information about the neighborhood. “For starters, I’m willing to bet things aren’t going well financially,” she says.

9:45 a.m. Karen discovers that several major employers in the area closed down about six months prior. “Looks like a call center moved out of the area, then a warehouse closed its doors just a month later. The average education level in the neighborhood is high school or less, so the loss of those two large employers likely put a strain on many of these people who were already struggling to make ends meet. It makes sense that we’d see an increase in robberies and break-ins. People are getting desperate, resorting to crime.”

11:00 a.m. Karen grabs an early lunch and decides to have a look at the neighborhood herself.

11:30 a.m. In the affected neighborhood Karen observes broken windows, abandoned buildings, proliferation of gang graffiti, and a high concentration of liquor stores. An alarming number of loitering citizens are wearing gang colors, including several large groups of children aged 10-15. Karen takes notes on everything she sees indicative of larger problems in the neighborhood.

3:00 p.m. Karen is back at her desk, compiling the data and her own observations into a report. “This area was struggling already, but now it looks to me like money has just stopped flowing into this community. Many of the few remaining businesses aren’t going to be good for the area in the long term. The liquor stores and the storefronts advertising payday loans, which tend to prey on people who desperately need cash. I see economic despair here, and I think that has helped gangs flourish.

“My job may seem a bit grim from outside, but I find it fascinating. A criminologist sees some of the darker aspects of society, but the goal is to ultimately understand crime, reduce it, and develop long-term strategies for improving the lives of citizens.”