CRIME - ACCIDENT OR DISEASE - AN EXPLORATION USING PROBABILITY MODELS FOR THE GENERATION OF MACRO-CRIMINOLOGICAL DATA

• NCJ Number: 6151
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (JULY 1971) Pages: 133-155
• Author(s): R A CARR-HILL; C D PAYNE
• Date Published: 1971
• Length: 23 pages
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THEORY AND DATA IN CRIMINOLOGY IS EXPLORED.

Abstract

THE AUTHOR STATES THAT ALTHOUGH AGGREGATE INFORMATION ON OFFENDERS AND THEIR OFFENSES IS USUALLY SPARSE, WE HAVE ATTEMPTED TO TEST VARIOUS THEORIES USING THESE DATA. WITHOUT SUCH AN ATTEMPT, WE CANNOT EVALUATE THE GENERAL APPLICABILITY OF CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE MORE USUAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON EASILY ACCESSIBLE SAMPLES WHICH MAY BE A COLLECTION OF EXTREME CASES. WE FIND, HOWEVER, THAT THE DIFFERENT THEORIES ARE INADEQUATELY SPECIFIED, AND THAT THE COLLECTION OF AGGREGATE DATA IS NOT NORMALLY DESIGNED TO TEST THEM. UNLESS THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTH THEORY AND DATA, WE SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE VARIOUS THEORIES OF CRIME AND ITS SOCIAL CONTROL. AUTHOR ABSTRACT