Kata kunci: kriminologi, kejahatan, motif pelaku, novel Kado Terbaik.

Criminology is a science that investigates social phenomena (society's ills) through the legal process, crime, and reactions to crime. Over time, criminology has developed as a science. It has evolved through collaboration with psychology, which views crime from both personal and mass perspectives. Additionally, the object of crime in criminology studies can be narrative fiction, including literary works in the form of novels. Studies in literary works are interesting because the development of stories written by authors involves social reality, where life cannot be separated from social dynamics in achieving goals. However, research on literary works using a criminological psychological perspective is still not as common as in other psychological studies. Therefore, this research aims to 1) show the form of crime in the novel "Kado Terbaik" by JS Khairen and 2) explain the motives of the characters in the novel "Kado Terbaik" in carrying out their criminal acts. The approach used in this research is a narrative-criminology approach supported by descriptive-qualitative methods. The data collection technique involves a reading-note technique, using the novel “Kado Terbaik” as a data source. The obtained results show crime data classified into violent crimes, property crimes, and coordinated crimes. Additionally, there are five data points on the characters' motives for carrying out their criminal acts: 1) economic conditions, 2) environmental influences, 3) coercion from the surrounding environment, 4) ties of brotherhood and friendship, and 5) ownership rights.

Keywords: criminology, crime, perpetrator's motives, novels Kado Terbaik