NCJ Number
90506
Editor(s)
F Ferracuti,
M E Wolfgang
Date Published
1983
Length
621 pages
Annotation
These writings on current criminological diagnosis in various countries and papers on major theoretical perspectives about the state of the art of criminological diagnosis reveal the confused status of such diagnostic work. A reevaluation of the field is needed, followed by a new conceptual and practical breakthrough.
Abstract
The introduction identifies crucial problems peculiar to the field of criminological diagnosis: how a definitional, labeling construct for crime differs from a medical and scientific construct and the still unresolved problems associated with defining and determining criminal responsibility. One conceptual paper deals with the criminological diagnosis of collective behavior (an argument for disaggregate labeling). It notes that many traditional and influential views of crowd behavior that have influenced the labeling of collectives have been discredited; yet alternative theories are currently unable to provide the details necessary for more specific policy recommendations. Other conceptual papers focus on (1) an operations-research and systems-analysis view of criminological diagnosis, (2) psychiatric diagnosis compared to criminological diagnosis, (3) factors influencing recidivism, (4) criminological diagnosis in forensic psychiatry, (5) a legal perspective on criminological diagnosis, and (6) diagnosis, classification, and prediction in the criminal justice system. Other papers address issues related to criminological diagnosis in Argentina, Italy, Japan, Egypt, Spain, the United States, Israel, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and England. About 1,200 bibliographic entries are provided.