Criminal Justice Theory

Explaining the Nature and Behavior of Criminal Justice

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Series: Criminology and Justice Studies.

Criminal Justice Theory is the first comprehensive volume on the theoretical foundations of criminal justice. The authors argue that theory in criminal justice is currently underdeveloped and inconsistently applied, especially in comparison to the role of theory in the study of crime itself.

In the diverse range of essays included here, the authors and contributors integrate examples from the study of criminal justice systems, judicial decision-making, courtroom communities, and correctional systems, building the argument that students of criminal justice must not evaluate their discipline solely on the basis of the effectiveness of specific measures in reducing the crime rate. Rather, if they hope to improve the system, they must acquire a systematic knowledge of the causes behind the structures, policies, and practices of criminal justice.

Table of Contents

1. Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Theory Part 1: The Nature, Method, and Boundaries of Criminal Justice Theory 2. Foundations of Criminal Justice Theory 3. Durkheim’s Comparative Method and Criminal Justice Theory 4. The Dominance of Crime and Neglect of Justice in Criminal Justice Theory Part 2: Theories of Policing 5. Explaining Police Organizations 6. Understanding Variety in Urban Community Policing Part 3: Individual and Community Level Theories of the Courts 7. Assessing Blameworthiness and Assigning Punishment 8. Courts and Communities Part 4: Testing Correctional Sector Theories: Two Examples 9. A Test of a Turnover Intent Model 10. Correctional Resources and the Structure of the Institutionalized Environment - Conclusion 11. Directions for Theory and Theorizing in Criminal Justice

Reviews

"…an extraordinary and much-needed book. Criminal Justice Theory is a tour de force that will undoubtedly strengthen the recent movement toward finally establishing Criminal Justice theory as essential to our field. It adds significant clarity to the idea of theorizing criminal justice for both student and academic, and will certainly prove to be an invaluable resource."

—Peter B. Kraska, Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Criminal Justice and Police Studies, Eastern Kentucky University

"This groundbreaking collection is the most important advancement to date in the development of criminal justice theory. It is destined to be a true classic that will have a long lasting influence on scholarship in criminal justice. Criminal Justice Theory is required reading for criminal justice scholars and students alike."

—Vincent J. Webb, Dean and Director, College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University

"The evolution of a discipline necessarily requires a theoretical domain. While it is clear that criminal justice is a distinct field of inquiry, it has not been clear that this fledgling discipline has an integrating theoretical domain. This is no longer the case. The volume edited by Duffee and Maguire establishes a theoretical domain for criminal justice that will, at long last, sustain evolution of criminal justice as a scientific discipline."

—Robert Langworthy, Director of the Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage

Author/Editor Biography

David E. Duffee is Professor in the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, where he served as Dean from 1988-1995. He is the author or editor of nine previous books including Explaining Criminal Justice, which won the inaugural Outstanding Book Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Edward R. Maguire is Associate Professor in the Administration of Justice Department at George Mason University. He specializes in police innovation and reform.