NCJ Number
63668
Editor(s)
N MORRIS,
M TONRY
Date Published
1979
Length
357 pages
Annotation
THE FIRST VOLUME OF A SERIES OF ANNUAL PUBLICATIONS SURVEYS THE AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE OF CRIME AND OF SOCIETY'S METHODS TO UNDERSTAND CRIME AND DEAL WITH IT.
Abstract
BECAUSE NO SINGLE THEORETICAL VIEWPOINT SUFFICES FOR AN ADEQUATE UNDERSTANDING OF CRIMINOLOGY, AN INTERDISCIPLINARY SHARING OF KNOWLEDGE MUST FORM LINKS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ACADEMIC AND TECHNICAL PROFESSIONS WHICH CONDUCT CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH. IMPORTANT TOPICS DISCUSSED ARISE FROM BOTH THE EMERGING THEORIES OF CRIMINOLOGY AND FROM PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. TWO ESSAYS ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS OF POLICE FUNCTION, STRUCTURE, AND CONTROL FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; A SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW IS USED TO IDENTIFY THE CHANGING CONCEPTIONS OF THE POLICE ROLE. ARTICLES ON ETIOLOGY AND CRIME-CAUSATION THEORY INDICATE THAT A THEORY OF 'DIFFERENTIAL ANTICIPATION' PROVIDES A SOUND FOUNDATION FOR SENSIBLE PUBLIC POLICIES. YOUTH VIOLENCE AND THE DIVERSION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS ARE EXAMINED FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF A LAW PROFESSOR AND A SOCIOLOGIST. INQUIRY IN THE AREA OF CORRECTIONAL PRACTICE INDICATES THE EXTENT OF RACIAL CONFLICT AND POLARIZATION WITHIN PRISONS AND SUGGESTS RESEARCH WHICH WOULD LINK THE PRISON SUBCULTURES TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LARGER SOCIETY. ALTHOUGH LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH HAS NOT FREQUENTLY BEEN CONDUCTED IN THE UNITED STATES, A SURVEY OF COMPLETED RESEARCH ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY SHOWS THE UTILITY OF LONG-TERM STUDIES. REFERENCES AND ARTICLE ABSTRACTS ARE PROVIDED.