NCJ Number
139064
Journal
EuroCriminology Volume: 1 Dated: (1987) Pages: 5-13
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Many different definitions have been given of the scope of criminology, and these differing views basically reflect the period of time in question and the backgrounds of criminologists.
Abstract
Publications used in European universities during the 1930's presented criminology as the study of an offender's individual characteristics and the social environment of the offense. A more contemporary view is that criminology is concerned with the effect of certain sanctions on criminality and the associated policymaking process. Criminal policy involves all decisionmaking on criminality, from the drafting and passing of legislation to decisions on individual cases. Criminal justice research should initially be distinctly separate from policymaking, have general validity, and then be presented to decisionmakers in a usable format. Research essential to policy development is characterized by three terms: value conscious, effect conscious, and alternative conscious. Research topics fluctuate according the focus of the period--for example, treatment in the 1950's, legal rights in the 1960's, alternatives to imprisonment in the 1970's, and alternatives to criminal justice in the 1980's.