NCJ Number
159120
Journal
EuroCriminology Volume: 8-9 Dated: special issue (1995) Pages: 181-198
Date Published
1995
Length
18 pages
Annotation
For a long time, criminological research in Germany focused on crimes and offenders; since the 1960's, however, social control under German criminal law has increasingly developed into a subject of theoretical and empirical research.
Abstract
In current German criminology, crime control constitutes a part of criminological research that is equivalent to offenses, offenders, and victims. Moreover, crime control has become a crucial point in criminological analyses. German criminology regards criminal prosecution as a selective process, to filter offenses and offenders from the total quantity of criminal acts and delinquents until a comparatively small number go through the entire criminal justice system up to the most serious penal sanction (imprisonment). Findings of empirical studies dealing with criminology, criminal proceedings, punishment, and sanctions are reported. The question of whether Germany's criminal justice and judicial systems handle criminality in an appropriate and effective way is assessed, and the need for more criminological research on crime control is noted. 106 footnotes