NCJ Number
207469
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 55-63
Date Published
2004
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses how criminology must change in its mission, theories, and methodologies in order to make the discipline more relevant to the control of new forms of crime and criminal methods spawned by new computer-based information and communication technologies.
Abstract
Regarding criminology's mission, criminologists must no longer perceive themselves as engaged only in "pure" science, i.e., the collection and analysis of empirical facts about the development and manifestations of criminal behaviors, but rather as practitioners of "applied" science, which means that the scientific method must extend to the development of crime-control policy. This means focusing on what can be changed and how it can be changed in order to prevent and reduce specific types of crime. Criminology must also undergo changes in theory and research by abandoning theories that have lost credibility, such as the theory that crime is the product of disadvantage and discrimination. Rather, the focus must be on the development of prevention strategies that deter potential criminals, reduce opportunities for crime, and harden targets that attract criminal minds. Further, criminology must undergo changes in applications and audience. Criminologists must recognize that the police are society's frontline for protecting the public from criminal victimization, so criminologists must focus on practical ways in which the police can become more effective in detecting and investigating crime as well as arresting offenders. 19 references