About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

13 J. Res. Crime & Delinquency 1 (1976)

handle is hein.journals/jrcd13 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Research in Cri e anil Delinquency JANUARY 1976 NUMBER 1 Editorial Notes Public life in America has never been without an abundance of sages will- ing to make some kind of pronounce- ment on all or at least some of the aspects of the crime problem. Some have explained it, some have pro- posed remedies, some have been con- tent merely to denounce it. Out of all these perceptions and prescriptions our national response to a persisting epi- demic has taken its confusing forms. Obviously the response is pathetically inadequate for the times in which we live but the dialogue continues. There is a difference in this age of disillusion. Whereas in the ebullience of victory in a world war our boundless confidence led some of our leaders to a conviction that even the crime prob- lem could be solved, there are now overtones of despair and desperation. Punishment and restraint seem to some to be the only answers, and we do not lack for prophets to tell us that the punishment should be more severe and the restraint more constricting. But there is another difference. We are also living in an age in which em- piricism is supported by a competent social science. The prophets who used to function on a priori fantasies about what the rational man (usually a sensi- ble fellow like themselves) might do when confronted with the occasion for a criminal act have been replaced by writers who carefully refer to research findings supporting the contentions which they wish to make. The impact 1 of their recommendations on our policy-makers begins to be impressive. We have had a bumper crop of crim- inal justice prognostication in 1975. In our last issue we re-visited Robert Martinson, whose documented review of evaluative research on correctional rehabilitation has become a kind of benchmark for future charting of cor- rectional policy. In this issue we pre- sent a pair of reviews of a comparably significant study by Paul Lerman, deal- ing with two of the most renowned in- novations generated by California cor- rections. We hope that the controversy which this volume has already pro- duced will intensify for the common benefit of the general public and our own research community. In our next issue we will present reviews of several other members of the class of 1975. The works of Ernest van den Haag, James Q. Wilson, Norval Morris, and David Fogel all present points of view which scrupulously look to research for illu- mination. Clearly research in criminal justice has come of age; clearly it is put to use by writers of sensitivity and learning. The questions before us now are new and complex: How well is re- search being put to use by its inter- preters? What are the rules for the in- terpretation of research for the creation of policy? What responsibilities must the researchers bear for the interpreta- tion of their own work? In our next issue, the final one for this editor, we shall attempt some preliminary resolu- VOLUME 13

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most