Public Policy and Criminology: An Historical and Philosophical Reassessment (From Public Policy, Crime, and Criminal Justice, Second Edition, P 23-36, 2000, Barry W. Hancock and Paul M. Sharp, eds. -- See NCJ-183970)

• NCJ Number: 183956
• Author(s): James F. Gilsinan
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice-Hall, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from James F. Gilsinan, "Public Policy and Criminology: A Historical and Philosophical Reassessment." Justice Quarterly 8(2): 201-206.

Annotation

Criminal justice researchers are increasingly engaging in ideological debates about their proper role in policy; these debates, however, are couched in theoretical and research categories that cloud rather than enlighten the premises on which the proponents labor.

Abstract

Thus, the discipline of criminology moves toward an undetermined ideology, one that cannot be changed by arguments based on experience and logic. Through the systematic articulation of value premises and the recognition that criminological theory is an example of an under-determined or rational ideology, the gap between policy and the practice of social science can be considerably narrowed. This recognition in turn will lead to an appreciation of how the discipline of criminology has been part of the policy arena. The role of history is viewed as one in which public exposure and debate of ideas have sharpened definitions, procedures, and conclusions. History, however, has tended to be interpreted within a framework of mythic science in which earlier theories are simply criticized for their scientific inadequacy. More attention needs to be paid to the contribution of criminological theories to policy and to how policy applications contribute to the development of criminology. Implications of policy for both theory and practice in the field of criminology are discussed. 41 references