NCJ Number
186992
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: 2000 Pages: 45-67
Editor(s)
J. M. Miller
Date Published
2000
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Several commentators have complained that critical criminology is neglected in mainstream publications on criminology and criminal justice, and this criticism was examined in an empirical analysis of the coverage of critical criminology in 27 introductory criminal justice textbooks published between 1990 and 1999.
Abstract
The treatment of critical criminology in the textbooks was operationally defined by areas, topics, concepts, and definitions mentioned under the heading of critical criminology. Specifically, this included coverage of anarchist criminology; the relationship between class, race, and/or gender oppression and criminal behavior or criminal justice practice; and the conflict explanation of the law. This also included coverage of critical feminism, left realism, news-making criminology, peacemaking topics, postmodern/constitutive criminology, and earlier radical arguments. Findings revealed introductory criminal justice textbooks devoted less coverage to critical perspectives than recent introductory criminology textbooks. Theoretical orientations of criminal justice textbooks, critical or mainstream, strongly affected the extent of coverage in the textbooks. Among areas associated with critical criminology, the textbooks devoted the most attention to peacemaking topics and the relationship between class, race, and/or gender oppression and criminal behavior and criminal justice practice. Anarchist criminology, critical feminism, left realism, and postmodern/constitutive criminology received little or no attention. Textbook authors recognized class, race, and/or gender inequalities existed in the criminal justice system but largely ignored the theoretical explanations for these problems. An appendix lists criminal justice textbooks examined in the study. 78 references, 5 notes, and 3 tables