NCJ Number
84527
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1982) Pages: 307-321
Date Published
1982
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article argues that changes in criminal justice social policies in the United States and Canada away from treatment approaches to deterrence and incapacitation responses are based upon unquestioned research findings and methodologies.
Abstract
The failure of criminologists to reappraise methodological criteria of the research evaluated by Martinson and Lipton, the willingness of criminologists to accept these evaluations at face value, and the tendency to use research arguments to justify social policy changes have resulted in unjustified rejection of the treatment approach. The failure of social scientists to exercise organized skepticism when evaluating the conclusions of Martinson and Lipton may be attributable to five reasons. These reasons include the ideological climate of the time, low readership of the Martinson works, laudatory reviews of Martinson's works, the impression of thoroughness in Lipton's works, and lack of criticism of the methodologies employed in their research efforts. Return to the practice of organized skepticism is encouraged, and failure of the criminologists to do so will result in continued misguided social policy changes. The article provides 63 references.