NCJ Number
61431
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (SPRING 1979) Pages: 27-33
Date Published
1979
Length
7 pages
Annotation
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CRIMINOLOGY MUST OCCUR BEFORE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINOLOGY CAN BE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED.
Abstract
COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY IS AN EFFORT TO INCREASE THE SCIENTIFIC CHARACTER OF CRIMINOLOGY THROUGH REPLICATION OF RESEARCH TRANSNATIONALLY, THE STANDARDIZATION OF METHODOLOGIES AND VARIABLE DEFINITIONS, DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY CONCEPTS, AND USE OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FOR DEALING WITH CRIMINOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. OBSTACLES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY INCLUDE THE EXISTENCE OF NATIONALIST IDEOLOGIES UNDERLYING CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF CRIMINOLOGY TO A PARTICULAR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS, AND THE LACK OF A STANDARIZED INTERNATIONAL DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM PERTAINING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE. TO DEVELOP COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY EACH NATION MUST SUPPLY ITS SHARE OF CRIMINOLOGISTS PREPARED TO PARTICIPATE IN COMPARATIVE RESEARCH THROUGH SOPHISTICATED ATTITUDES TOWARD RESEARCH PROBLEMS, ACCEPTANCE OF THE ROLES OF OTHER CRIMINOLOGISTS, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FRAME OF REFERENCE FROM WHICH OTHERS WORK, AND KNOWLEDGE OF A COMMON VOCABULARY TO PERMIT EXCHANGE OF PRECISELY DEFINED IDEAS. THE WIDER DISTRIBUTION OF SCIENTISTS' SKILLS CAN ONLY OCCUR THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CRIMINOLOGY AS A SPECIALIZED SCIENCE AND PROFESSION IN INDIVIDUAL NATIONS. THIS HAPPENS WHEN REGULAR RELATIONSHIPS ARE ESTABLISHED AMONG PERSONS WHO VIEW THEMSELVES AS CRIMINOLOGISTS, WHEN RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH AND CAREER REWARDS ARE PROVIDED SYSTEMATICALLY, WHEN SELF-IDENTIFIED CRIMINOLOGISTS PERCEIVE DISTINCTIVELY CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROBLEMS, AND WHEN A DEPENDABLE FLOW OF QUALIFIED RECRUITS ASSURES CONTINUITY OF CRIMINOLOGY. THE EMERGENCE OF THE COMPARATIVE METHOD INTERNATIONALLY WOULD REFLECT THE GROWTH OF EMPIRICAL SOCIAL SCIENCE, THE ACCUMULATION OF KNOWLEDGE, PROGRESS IN METHODOLOGY, SHARPENING OF THEORY, INCREASED PARTICIPATION BY GOVERNMENTS IN EFFORTS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BEYOND THEIR BORDERS, AND THE RECOGNITION THAT CRIME IS AMONG THE PUBLIC ISSUES THAT HAS NO POLITICAL OR IDEOLOGICAL BOUNDARIES. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)