NCJ Number
92456
Date Published
1983
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Focusing on the Netherlands, this essay describes the organization of government criminological research, particularly in the Ministry of Justice's research center, and reviews current research in universities and in government and the respective roles of each.
Abstract
The Ministry of Justice created its own research center in response to the need for scientifically based advice and recommendations that the universities could not or would not provide. The university establishment criticized the center, reorganized in 1974, claiming that the center was not independent and that the Ministry's need for policy relevant findings would produce scientifically weak research. Prompt publication of all research reports and the issuance of a press release upon study publication help to guarantee independence. The closeness of policymakers to researchers and the apprehension that government research will be theoretically and methodologically weak threatens the independence of government researchers. University funded research focuses on delinquency and deviant juvenile behavior and studies of a more theoretical or general nature. The Foundation for Pure and Fundamental Research funds a judicial and theoretical study of corporate crime and a historical study of the development of crime reporting in Dutch newspapers. Ministry of Justice research center research -descriptive/exploratory, evaluative, and action oriented -- includes an annual victims survey, a police training study, and crime prevention experiments. Important changes in the organization of research are needed to overcome the relative weakness of Dutch criminological institutes and the preponderance of government sponsored research in the Netherlands.