NCJ Number
100849
Journal
Justice Professional Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (December 1985) Pages: 5-9
Date Published
1985
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Criminologists and criminal justicians have neglected the nuclear arms issue.
Abstract
Factors contributing to this neglect may include the psychological difficulty of confronting the prospect of nuclear holocaust, greater interest in career advancement and other short-term goals than in issues of long-term survival, and a perceived lack of expertise on the issue. Yet, there are several areas in which the field could contribute to greater understanding of the nuclear arms issue. Criminologists could consider the arguments for and against extending conceptions of crime and criminality to continued development and future use of nuclear weapons. They could study how socialization contributes to images of crime, criminality, violence, and law and how these relate to the nuclear threat. They could examine criminal decisionmaking as it relates to the decision to use nuclear force. They could extend the concepts of discretion and deterrence to the decisionmaking realm in nuclear arms and the notion of nuclear deterrence. Finally, they could consider the law as a mechanism of social control as it relates to the legality of using nuclear weapons. 5 references.