Hi - you raise an important issue for further deba...

2010-10-21T04:37:50.680-04:00

Hi - you raise an important issue for further debate.

I think you really need to have a look at Jock Young's chapter on Voodoo Criminology and The Numbers Game. The main arguments are that (in the UK - and in the USA) empirical criminologists have become for want of a better word Positivists. Young shows how weaknesses in official crime survey data compound one on the other - and thereby are of less worth than many believe.

Those pursuing pseudo-social science tend to ignore or pay scant attention to criticisms that prove exceptions to their hypothesis and promote those that support it. Young’s arguments for the usefulness of Cultural Criminology and the limitations of “Administrative Criminology” should not be ignored if we are to progress with the criminological endeavour.

Here is a link to Young’s chapter: http://www.culturalcriminology.org/papers/chap1-jock-young.pdf

Let’s discuss some more once you’ve read it.

Dr Society

Comments on The General Blog of Crime: Cultural Criminology and Edgework?

Hi - you raise an important issue for further deba...