NEW AND THE OLD CRIMINOLOGY - SKETCHING THE FUTURE AGENDA OF CRIMINOLOGY (FROM NEW AND THE OLD CRIMINOLOGY, 1978, BY EDITH ELISABETH FLYNN AND JOHN P CONRAD - SEE NCJ-47562)

• NCJ Number: 47563
• Author(s): E E FLYNN
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 14 pages
• Corporate Author: Praeger Publishers
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY, BASIC QUESTIONS AROUND WHICH IT WILL CONTINUE TO REVOLVE, AND BASIC CRIMINOLOGICAL ISSUES AND PRIORITIES FOR THE FUTURE ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

CRIMINOLOGY'S THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT CAN BE TRACED FROM THE 18TH CENTURY WHEN SCHOLARS AND WRITERS REACTED AGAINST THE SOCIAL DISORDER AND INJUSTICES OF SOCIETY. MODERN CRIMINOLOGY BEGAN IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY WHEN SCHOLARS STUDIED CRIME AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON AND COLLECTED AND ANALYZED CRIMINAL STATISTICS IN AN EFFORT TO DISCOVER SOCIETY'S NATURAL LAWS AND TO PROVIDE PROGRAMMATIC PRESCRIPTIONS FOR UPHOLDING THE EXISTING SOCIAL ORDER. IN THE 1870'S, CRIMINOLOGY CAME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES, CULMINATING IN THE 'POSITIVE SCHOOL' OF CRIMINOLOGY. BY THE 1930'S, STUDENTS OF CRIMINOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES COULD DISCERN THREE MAJOR AND DISTINCT THEORIES OF CRIME: DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND ANOMIE, AND CULTURAL CONFLICT. THE 1960'S BROUGHT A MAJOR CHANGE, WITH CRIMINOLOGISTS VIEWING CRIME AS A SOCIALLY AND LEGALLY DEFINED PHENOMENON AND AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PROCESSES OF CONFLICT AND CHANGE. IN THE LATE 1960'S TO LATE 1970'S DIFFERENT APPROACHES PROLIFERATED, VARIOUSLY LABELED 'NEW CRIMINOLOGY,' 'CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY,' AND 'RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY.' THESE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY A TENDENCY TO POLARIZATION, POLITICIZATION, AND ASSUMPTION OF A CRITICAL STANCE REGARDING SOCIAL ISSUES. HOWEVER, THE MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENT IS MORE GLOBAL AND STEMS FROM SOCIETY AT-LARGE; THAT IS, THE THREATENED REJECTION OF SCIENCE ITSELF (INCLUDING BEHAVIOR SCIENCE AND CRIMINOLOGY) BY THE GENERAL POPULATION. SOME MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS AND DIRECTIONS CAN RECOGNIZED, INCLUDING THE EXPANSION OF CRIMINOLOGY'S SPHERE OF INQUIRY, THE DEEMPHASIS OF THE ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OFFENDER, AND THE INCREASING SCIENTIFIC RIGOR AND CRITICAL STANCE ON THE PART OF PRACTITIONERS. AS A RESULT, THE FOLLOWING POLICY-RELEVANT ISSUES ARE LIKELY TO BE RESEARCHED: MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF CRIME; ILLICIT MARKETPLACES; ORGANIZED CRIME; POLITICAL CORRUPTION; DETERRENCE MODELS; OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, EQUITY, AND HUMANE TREATMENT; DECISIONMAKING; AND DISCRETIONARY DECISIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (BAC)