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11 Eur. J. Criminology 3 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/eujcrim11 and id is 1 raw text is: 



                                                                           [uroean

Article                                                                     Mnoogy

                                                               European journal of Criminology
                                                                        2014, Vol I 1(1) 3-22
Wider and deeper: The future                                           @ The Author(s) 2014
                                                                    Reprints and permissions:
of   crim    inology        in  Europe                      sagepub.co.ul/journalsPermissions.nav
                                                               DOI: 10.1177/1477370813500885
                                                                           euc.sagepub.com
                                                                             OSAGE

David J. Smith
London School of Economics, UK




Abstract
The European journal ofCriminology was launched 10 years ago. In this article, the journal's founding
editor, David J. Smith, reflects on the journal's contribution to European criminology. The article
recalls the ambitions for the journal when the idea was first discussed, and looks back over the
first nine volumes to assess the extent to which these ambitions have been fulfilled. It argues that
the study of crime must draw on both humanist and scientific traditions. Because its moral and
political dimensions are inescapable, criminology is bound to have a contested relationship with
government. The weaknesses of the journal so far have been on the humanist and critical side,
with an associated lack of deep and detailed qualitative research. Among the many strengths are
lively and varied comparative studies, research using innovative methods, and articles that open
up new  fields and shift the emphasis away from minor offending by juveniles. Building on this
base, this article discusses the role the journal should play in creating the future of European
criminology.


Keywords
European criminology, history of criminology, research impact, research methods



Introduction

Introducing the first issue of this journal in January 2004 I argued that, even if criminol-
ogy was  embryonic  or nascent in much  of Europe, a number  of forces were driving its
development.  Crime  control, criminal justice and security, often in an unholy mix with
responses to immigration, were increasingly important in the politics of many European
countries. France and Poland  were  key examples,  although the politicization of crime
had happened   earlier in the UK. As a consequence, the political class had begun to see
criminology  as a resource, and governments had  played a major role in funding centres
of criminological research that were bound to develop the capacity to bite the hands that


Corresponding author:
David J. Smith, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
Email: d.j.smith I @blueyonder.co.uk

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