ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to encourage students to open their minds about the study of crime, beyond their own personal observations and opinions. No universally clear definition of crime exists, it varies from place to place and often depends on a wide variety of circumstances. Captain Kidd's story illumates how difficult it can be to definitely state the nature of crime. Because the legalistic definition of crime is limiting in terms of scope, sociologists have developed alternative definitions of crime. The academic roots of criminology stem from the social sciences and require incisive examination of the concepts and terms used within the discipline. Human rights ought to be the criterion for defining crime, according to other criminologists. That is, all human beings have inalienable rights and violations of these rights should be viewed as criminal acts. Beirne and Messerschmidt focus on crime as a sociological problem, therefore, they employ a variety of definitions of crime as appropriate in the given contexts.
