Putting Theory to Work
Edited by Scott H. Decker and Kevin A. WrightIn the field of criminal justice, public policy is designed to address the problems brought on by criminal behavior and the response to that behavior. However, too often, the theories carefully developed in the academy fail to make their way into programs and policy. The editors and contributors to this second edition of Criminology and Public Policy highlight the recent development of “translational criminology” to address the growing movement in criminology to use the results of criminological research and theory to better inform policy and practice.
The essays in Criminology and Public Policy propose an in-depth look at both theory and practice and how they are integrated across a number of key criminal justice problems—from racial and environmental concerns to gun control and recidivism rates as well as police use of force and mass incarceration. The end result is an essential volume that blends both theory and practice in an effort to address the critical problems in explaining, preventing, responding to, and correcting criminal behavior.
Contributors include: Robert K. Ax, Michelle N. Block, Anthony A. Braga, Rod K. Brunson, Jennifer Carlson, Ronald V. Clarke, Shea Cronin, Megan Denver, Kevin M. Drakulich, Grant Duwe, Amy Farrell, Cheryl Jonson, Charis E. Kubrin, Justin Kurland, Megan Kurlychek, Shannon Magnuson, Daniel P. Mears, Robert D. Morgan, Kathleen Powell, Danielle Rudes, Cassia Spohn, Cody Telep, Natalie Todak, Glenn Trager, Jillian J. Turanovic, Sara Wakefield, Patricia Warren, David Weisburd, Michael D. White, Rob White, Lauren Wilson and the editors
“There once was a time in criminology when scholars pursued either theory (criminology) or public policy (criminal justice), but never theory and policy. Thankfully, those days are long gone. These days, we cannot and should not do one without consideration of the other. Decker and Wright have amassed a team of scholars akin to the 1927 New York Yankees: a “who’s who” at the intersection of what this line of work should look like. The editors’ essays, too, are illustrative, for they tell the individual stories of how each got to where they are in their careers and where they’re heading. This collection is a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Read. It. Now.”
—Alex R. Piquero, Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology, the University of Texas at Dallas, and author of Key Issues in Criminal Career Research: New Analyses of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development
"(T)his edition is not merely the reiteration of previously presented ideas but instead offers fresh insight into both traditional criminological canons and topics often found at the periphery of the field.... One particular strength of this edition is the often-complementary nature of the chapters.... While this edition continues to make big and important strides in bridging research and practice, the nature of the solutions or answers sections are frequently written in a way that will likely make them most accessible."
—Journal of Criminal Justice Education
Communities and Crime
Pamela Wilcox, Francis T. Cullen, and Ben Feldmeyer