Introduction: The Criminologist From the Small Back Room (From Policy and Theory in Criminal Justice, P 1-9, 1990, Don M Gottfredson and Ronald V Clarke, eds. -- See NCJ-130506)

• NCJ Number: 130507
• Author(s): D M Gottfredson; R V Clarke
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Avebury Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Leslie Wilkins' work in operational research for the government of Great Britain and his criminological research as an academician in the United States are discussed with emphasis on their contributions to criminology.

Abstract

Like other governmental researchers, Wilkins was frustrated by his circumscribed role and lack of control over his work. He eventually resigned his position as deputy head of the Home Office Research Unit and obtained a research position in the United Nations and, later, an academic position in the United States. Among the topics he pioneered were information theory and criminal justice decisionmaking, the issue of delinquent generations, the distribution of deviance, the relationship between opportunity and crime, and the relationship between research and policy. The later chapters in this book present other authors' analyses of these topics. A statistical analysis of the publications listed on Wilkins's resume shows that he publishes at a steady rate. Wilkins's career suggests the need to involve government researchers in setting research priorities and to include their names on published reports so that they can increase their authority in the unequal struggle against their administrative superiors. Figure, tables, notes, and 7 references