NCJ Number
187422
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 1-30
Date Published
March 2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This article proposes a framework for classifying specific criminal justice theories.
Abstract
In an attempt to advance the development and generalization of criminal justice theory as a whole, the article proposes a framework for classifying specific criminal justice theories. It then presents an interpretive history of the academic field of criminal justice to demonstrate how the field can be organized within that framework. It also describes some lessons about theory learned in the field of criminology and applying those lessons to the field of criminal justice. The article claims that the best way to organize criminal justice theory is to categorize it on the basis of the dependent variable, i.e., the individual behavior of criminal justice agents, the organizational behavior of criminal justice organizations, and the aggregate behavior of the criminal justice system and its components as a whole. Once theories have been classified on the basis of their dependent variables, it is possible to sort and organize by independent variables. This organization of theory promotes conceptual clarity, allows generalization across system components, and permits competitive testing of theories in criminal justice. References