Studying the criminal mind

This writer does not know how University of Dhaka, once fondly described as Oxford of the East, ranks in terms of academic excellence on a global basis. Discussions with erudite stakeholders reveal a less than satisfactory state of affairs in so far as they relate to the research and academic reach as well as the administrative firmness of the public universities. 

In a scenario as stated above, the opening of the Department of Criminology of the University of Dhaka in 2014, though belated, is a refreshingly welcome news. One could perhaps justifiably reason that in terms of academic propriety, the Department of Criminology could have commenced its journey alongside the Department of Sociology in late 50s at the University of Dhaka. However, owing to facts better left unsaid, this delayed pragmatism has to be admired and encouraged.

Talking about pragmatism, we are heartened to know from the Chairman of the Department of Criminology that they are accepting regular students as well as professionals including lawyers, journalists, and members of different law enforcing agencies. Further the department is working on establishing links for knowledge-sharing and learning. In such ventures one can see the formative stage of the much needed meeting of the official and academic minds, so very characteristic of higher seats of learning elsewhere.

Dwelling on the course content and its relevance to the criminal justice system, the department has very pertinently pointed to the imperative of the constitutional right of citizens to live in a peaceful society. The need for mobilisation of social forces for rendering moral development of citizens also cannot escape notice. It also recognises the importance of family and good education towards building a healthy society.

In fact, the importance of home can hardly be ignored to study crime and related societal deviations. Good homes, indeed, are our insurance against crimes. There could be no two opinions on the "need to catch ethics early."

We are told that Criminology as an academic discipline mainly focuses on the causes of crime from a theoretical point of view. So while the etiology of crime, sociology of law, and the treatment of criminals maybe the focal areas of academic concern, it would do society a service by venturing to know if social disorganisation, dislocation, wanton disregard of our values are the inevitable concomitant price that the country has to pay to attain socio-economic development. If that be the case, how do we achieve balanced growth, an oft-repeated development goal?  

Theoretically speaking, we might be wondering if human criminal behaviour is genetically predetermined and in such an eventuality, how the rationale of inflicting punishment would be looked at. However, at the same time, can't we expect that, as a down to earth Social Science subject with a desirable applied bias, the Department of Criminology might venture to find out why particular geographical areas of Bangladesh are more prone to crimes and why suicides are a recurrent reality in some specific locations? The department could also look at the impacts of climate change, natural disasters or seasonal variations have on the frequency and trends of crime in our part of the world.

Delving into the enigma of understanding criminal behaviour, one might come across interesting happenings in 1971 when many hard-boiled criminals were the first to join the ranks of freedom fighters before others could break out of the shackles of hesitance and ambivalence. In greater Barisal, the valiant deeds of Kuddus Mollah, a veteran dacoit popularly known as Robin Hood of South Bengal, against well-armed Pakistani soldiers were greatly inspirational in boosting the morale of the local population. His daredevilry in Nandir Bazar and elsewhere in the district would remain as feats of exemplary courage in the annals of our civilian armed resistance during the liberation struggle. How an unethical and immoral man with a criminal mind rose to incredible heights of altruism could perhaps constitute an area of research. 

The question is, are criminals, largely, a brave lot? Could a good number of them be brought back to socially and morally acceptable vocations to render them into law abiding productive citizens? How fast can the apparently "fun-seeking" delinquent of the neighbourhood turn into the uncontrollable don of the area? Who are the suspected patrons and how the process works to society's peril?

On a broader canvas, the political economy of crime and corruption could be an area of intense study. One could also venture to see the impact of enforcement of deviance on the implementation of pro-poor development agenda. Another significant area of concern could be to find out if increasingly litigious actions are standing in the way of harmonious development and if alternative dispute resolution could be the preferred relief. 

The all-pervasiveness of crime has always engaged practitioners and academicians. Some say that no society at any time or clime is or was free from crime and that crime is as old as humanity. Advocates of capital and corporeal punishment in their innocent exuberance might think of having a crime-free society with decapacitated limbs but what is the ground reality? Is multiplicity of causation of crime a phenomena worth studying? 

Last but not the least, what about those in consequential positions who have no ostensible means of subsistence, or who cannot give a satisfactory account of their wealth? Criminologists in the making could study the suspected profusion of such category of persons amidst us in academic and perhaps public interest. 

The writer is a columnist of the The Daily Star.