The object of study of criminology

There is an impelling need for criminology to define its object of study independently of what criminal law prescribes. Without that, whenever a criminal code - or even a criminal law - changes, criminologists would need to redefine the behavior they seek to understand. The consequences of such a situation on the internal consistency of the discipline are easy to catch. To avoid such consequences, criminology must therefore be able to delineate its object of study based on not legal but scientific criteria.