Penology (from the Latin poena, "punishment") comprises penitentiary science: that concerned with the processes devised and adopted for the punishment, repression, and prevention of crime, and the treatment of prisoners.

Contemporary penology concerns itself mainly with prison management and criminal rehabilitation. The word seldom applies to theories and practices of punishment in less formal environments such as parenting.

See also:

• Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault