Handbook of quantitative criminology (original) (raw)

A brief overview of quantitative criminology in Australasia: 1981–1995

Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 1996

This paper reviews quantitative criminological research, especially of a sophisticated mathematical nature, published by researchers in Australia and New Zealand since 1981. A statistical analysis of quantitative articles published between 1981 and 1995 in the leading academic journal.The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, showed that using the five topical categories developed by Farrington (this issue), there has been

The Handbook of Measurement Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. eBooks, 2016

When persons first began to study crime victims, it was with the realization that victims may play a role in their own victimization. Those at the forefront of the process that generated the field of victimology were primarily concerned with the role of victim precipitation and with creating victim typologies; they were much less concerned with measuring or estimating the extent of criminal victimization (Schafer, 1968; von Hentig, 1948). That is, early work in the field of victimology was centered on identifying the extent to which victims contributed to their own victimization and with classifying victims into groups on the basis of their level of contribution or responsibility. When researchers began identifying and counting the number of different types of crime victims and collecting information about the characteristics of these incidents, they quickly found themselves challenged by the complexity of what, on the surface, appears to be a deceivingly simple measure ment tasks. It is important that victimization is measured effectively, so that the true extent of this phenomenon is known. Moreover, who is most likely to be victimized needs to be appropriately identified so that prevention resources can be directed at those most at risk. Measuring criminal victimization, as it turns out, is surprisingly difficult. Estimates derived are highly contingent upon how victimization is measured and upon a host of methodological choices. In this chapter we describe how some of the issues surrounding measurement influence the estimates and the characteristics of victimization that are produced. In addition, we present new developments in measurement, as well as potential new strategies for reducing measurement error and for analyzing survey data.

The Oxford Handbooks in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The Oxford Handbooks In Criminology And Criminal fusti ce offer authoritative, comprehensive, and critical overviews of the state of the art of criminology and criminal justice. Each volume focuses on a major area of each discipline, is edited by a distinguished group of specialists, and contains specially commissioned, original essays from leading international scholars in their respective fields. Guided by the general editorship of Michael Tonry, the series will provide an invaluable reference for scholars, students, and policy makers seeking to understand a wide range of research and policies in criminology and criminal justice.

An Overview of Issues in Criminological Theory Introduction to the Book

W elcome to the world of criminological theory! It is an exciting and complex endeavor that explains why certain individuals and groups commit crimes and why other people do not. This book will explore the conceptual history of this endeavor as well as current theories. Most of us can relate directly to many of these theories; we may know friends or family members who fit dominant models of criminal behavior. This introduction begins by describing what criminology is; what distinguishes it from other perspectives of crime, such as religion, journalism, or philosophy; and how definitions of crime vary across time and place. Then, it examines some of the major issues used to classify different theories of criminology. After exploring the various paradigms and categories of criminological theory, we discuss what characteristics help to make a theory a good one-in criminology or in any scientific field. In addition, we review the specific criteria for proving causality-for showing what predictors or variables actually cause criminal behavior. We also explain why-for logistic and ethical reasons-few theories in criminology will ever meet the strict criteria required to prove that key factors actually cause criminal behavior. Finally, we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the various measures of crime, which are used to test the validity of all criminological theories, and what those measures reveal about how crime is distributed across various individuals and groups. Although the discussion of crime distribution, as shown by various measures of criminality, may seem removed from our primary discussion regarding theories of why certain individuals and groups commit more crime than others, nothing could be further from the truth. Ultimately, all theories of criminal behavior will be judged based on how much each theory can explain the observed rates of crime shown by the measures of criminality among individuals and groups. 1 Stephen Brown, Finn Esbensen, and Gilbert Geis, Criminology, 6th ed. (Cincinnati: LexisNexis, 2007).

The Sage Dictionary of Criminology

2001

List of Contributors List of Entries Preface to the First Edition Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the Third Edition Editors' Introduction The Sage Dictionary of Criminology Subject Index Name Index Subject Index

Criminology_research_report.docx.pdf

4 Introduction 5 Aim and Research Question 6 Literature review 7 ABSTRACT The reasoning behind this research project is the publics lack of awareness, with regards to illegal drug use, plus the consequences of alcohol misuse in relation to crime and vandalism, the crime related indents recorded by the government and police, the impact on health services and society its self. The research also briefly looks at the dark figure of crime. It would appear there are several issues to be considered, none of which are easily accomplished, government statistics are controlled and independent figures are dismissed. Social perspectives are included, giving a broader explanation into the rationalising of crime and substance misuse.

Handbook of Quantitative Criminology edited by Alex R. Piquero and David Weisburd

Journal of Regional Science, 2012

reduced without inefficient overcapitalization or races to catch scarce total quotas), most probably don't know of the research McCay presents regarding the weaknesses of these systems; they can yield concentrated fishing industries that can promote undesirable capture of the regulators by those they regulate and raise social-equity red flags by excluding small fishers and communities with historic access to the resource. Finally, she discusses recent movements to modify ITQ systems to allow communities to have greater access to the resource while maintaining at least some of the efficiency benefits. This is an exciting development in an important area of CPR management, and much work could be done to explore the trade-offs between efficiency and equity in these systems and how (or indeed whether) "catch shares" (p. 229) could be used to balance those two goals. New-Institutional research on property rights meets equally exciting research in behavioral economics in the paper by C. Leigh Anderson and Richard Zerbe on land rights and Native Americans. These authors argue that the theory of ownership should include concepts of "psychological entitlement" (p. 296), which is clearly related to the reference points that feature prominently in behavioral-economics research on loss aversion, disparities between willingness to pay and willingness to accept, and the endowment effect. They develop qualitative hypotheses about "exogenously imposed changes" in property rights (pp. 302, 304), based on theories about reference points in preferences, and they explore those hypotheses in well-told narratives of the property rights systems held by Native Americans and the effects of changes forced on Native communities by Europeans. Anderson and Zerbe's work is thought provoking, with ideas and insights that quantitative researchers in behavioral economics might refine and use. While NIE has established that some organic systems of property rights work well to manage CPRs, Gary Libecap gives compelling quantitative evidence from water-price differentials that the property rights systems embodied in water markets of the Western United States are highly inefficient, with large welfare gains possible in some states if institutional reform facilitated water trading. Libecap goes on to examine the current systems of rights that exist for water in the West, and he discusses the combination of physical characteristics and institutional features that yield the inefficiency we currently observe. Lee Alston points out in his commentary that work must be done to understand "the decision-making bodies and the benefits and costs that they perceive from water contracting" (p. 413) before the institutional change called for by Libecap's analysis can come to pass-a fruitful and important research agenda for political economists. Finally, Jouni Paavola applies both neoclassical economics and New Institutionalism to the problem of climate-change mitigation. He presents an excellent discussion of research regarding governance of the atmospheric commons. The problem of climate-change mitigation has features that NIE has identified as problematic for decentralized "polycentric" governance (p. 417), but the absence of a global government makes "top-down" (p. 418) governance of the atmospheric commons problematic. Paavola describes some of the "bottom-up" climate-change governance initiatives that have emerged, and discusses the fact that climate-change governance will likely emerge as a hybrid of polycentric and state-based governance institutions (pp. 427-428). Environmental economists can use this well-balanced and informative chapter as a starting point for work that merges conventional and NIE approaches to studies of, for example, feasible and welfare-improving state-based climatechange policy in the face of polycentric governance institutions that the state does not control. Overall, multiple audiences should value this book. NIE experts will appreciate features such as the advances in legal theory and refinements of the property history of the California gold rush. Neophytes to the field of NIE will find it helpful as well. The papers provide engaging and diverse anecdotes and case studies about property rights systems and resource use in many places around the world, such as the tales of property rights and CPRs in Iceland presented by Thráinn Eggertsson in the first chapter. The collection also contains clear representations of some of the legal and social science theories and frameworks for property rights analysis that populate the current new movement in this area of study. The papers illustrate the range of new research on property rights and compile compelling evidence about diverse property rights systems and resource-use patterns that bring the theories to life and inspire further research.

Indicators of Crime and Criminal Justice: Quantitative Studies

Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1984

is a private nonprofit organization formed for the purpose of advancing research in the social sciences. It emphasizes the planning, appraisal, and stimulation of research that offers promise of increasing knowledge in social science or of increasing its usefulness to society. It is also concerned with the develoument of better research methods. irnpro;ement of the quality and accessibility of materials for research by social scientists, and augmentation of resources and facilities for their research.