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Reflections on the Criminological Enterprise

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2009

Anthony E. Bottoms
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If I may freely paraphrase Lady Bracknell (in The Importance of Being Earnest), to deliver an inaugural lecture one year after arrival in Cambridge seems unfortunate; to deliver it after being in post for two years looks like carelessness. Yet, as those from the Institute of Criminology will know, there is a particular reason for this timing. This month marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the University's postgraduate course in criminology, and I was myself a student on that first course, back in 1961. For me, therefore, there is a special personal satisfaction that this lecture is immediately to be followed by our formal celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the course.

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Articles
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The Cambridge Law Journal , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , July 1987 , pp. 240 - 263
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Copyright © Cambridge Law Journal and Contributors 1987

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References

1 Penal Practice in a Changing Society (1961) Cmnd. 645, para. 22.

2 Radzinowicz, Leon, “The Study of Criminology in Cambridge” (1961) 29 Medico-Legal Journal 122 at 124CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 Hood, Roger (Ed.), Crime, Criminology and Public Policy: Essays in Honour of Sir Leon Radzinowicz (1974), p. xviiiGoogle Scholar.

4 Farrington, David P., Ohlin, Lloyd and Wilson, J. Q., Understanding and Controlling Crime (1986), p. 1Google Scholar.

5 Downes, David, “Promise and Performance in British Criminology” (1978) 29 British Journal of Sociology 483 at 498CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

6 Walker, Nigel, “Crime and Punishment” (1964) 3(76) New Society 15 (12 03)Google Scholar.

7 R. A. Butler, “The Foundation of the Institute of Criminology in Cambridge” in Hood (Ed.), op. cit. at p. 6–7.

8 T. S. Lodge, “The Founding of the Home Office Research Unit” in Hood (Ed.), op. cit. at p. 22.

9 Croft, John, “Criminological Research in Great Britain, with a Note on the Council of Europe” in Tonry, M. and Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research (1983) vol. 5, at p. 267CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

10 Rothschild, Lord, “The Organisation and Management of Government R.&D.” in A Framework for Government Research and Development (1971) Cmnd. 4814Google Scholar.

11 Home Office Research and Planning Unit, Research Programme 1985–6, p. 3.

12 Clarke, R. V. G. and Cornish, D. B. (Eds.), Crime Control in Britain: A Review of Policy Research (1983), Editorial IntroductionGoogle Scholar.

13 Ibid., p. 5.

14 Cohen, S., “Criminology and the Sociology of Deviance in Britain” in Rock, P. and McIntosh, M. (Eds.), Deviance and Social Control (1974)Google Scholar.

15 Clarke and Cornish, op. cit., pp. 18, 52.

16 Ibid., p. 6.

17 Giddens, Anthony, The Constitution of Society (1984), p. xxGoogle Scholar.

18 Sparks, Richard F., “Britain” in Johnson, Elmer (Ed.) International Handbook of Contemporary Developments in Criminology: Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia (1982), at p. 96Google Scholar.

19 Croft, op. cit., p. 272.

20 Ibid., p. 271.

21 Ibid., p. 275.

22 Ibid., p. 275.

23 Home Office Research and Planning Unit, Research Programme 1986–7, p. 3.

24 Ibid., p. 2.

25 Rothschild, , op. cit., pp. 3–4Google Scholar.

26 A further problem is that the Economic and Social Research Council, itself under pressure to justify its existence, tends to try to emphasise the practical usefulness of the research which it funds, and thus partly undermines its special role in the field of basic research.

27 Rothschild, Lord, An Enquiry into the Social Science Research Council (1982) Cmnd. 8554, ch. 3Google Scholar.

28 Ibid., paras. 3.11, 3.12.

29 Rothschild, (1971) op. cit., p. 10Google Scholar.

30 Wilson, J. Q., Thinking about Crime (rev. ed. 1983), pp. 49–50Google Scholar; the “policy choices” of which Wilson is speaking are those specifically related to crime reduction.

31 For an overview, see Bottoms, A. E. and Wiles, Paul, “Housing Tenure and Residential Community Crime Careers in Britain” in Reiss, A. J. Jr and Tonry, M. (Eds.) Communities and Crone (1986)Google Scholar.

32 Lea, J. and Young, J., What Is To Be Done About Law and Order? (1984)Google Scholar; Kinsey, R., Lea, J. and Young, J., Losing the Fight against Crime (1986)Google Scholar; Jones, T., Maclean, B. and Young, J., The Islington Crime Survey (1986)Google Scholar.

33 Jones el. al., op. cit., ch. 1.

34 Kinsey et. al., op. cit., p. 4.

35 Hough, M. and Mayhew, P., The British Crime Survey: First Report (1983), p. 15Google Scholar.

36 Jones et al., op. cit., ch. 4.

37 Kinsey el al., op. cit., ch. 1.

38 There are, of course, also other factors related to the rise of left realism, notably the development, under the Conservative Government of the 1980s, of a style of realism and popularist law and order policies which made the older liberal style of Labour Party approaches to law and order seem inadequate to some on the left.

39 See the evidence on rates of household burglary, 1972–1983, summarised in Hough, M. and Mayhew, P., Taking Account of Crime: Key Findings from the Second British Crime Survey (1985) pp. 16–17 and Appendix EGoogle Scholar.

40 Hough, and Mayhew, (1985), op. cit., Table A, p. 61Google Scholar.

41 In 1984, there were 344,806 recorded offences of theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle in England and Wales. No directly comparable figure can be obtained for 1960 because at that time taking motor vehicles without consent was a non-indictable offence for which only data on “persons prosecuted,” and not “crimes recorded,” were shown in the annual Criminal Statistics. (By contrast, figures for recorded thefts of vehicles were shown in the statistics in 1960). However, it can be shown that in each of the years 1964–1968 inclusive, the ratio of “persons prosecuted” to “crimes recorded” for taking motor vehicles without consent was always within the narrow range 1:3.85 to 1:4.15. If, therefore, we multiply the “persons prosecuted” figure for unlawful taking for 1960 by 4, and add the figure for recorded thefts of motor vehicles, a figure of (13,058 x 4) + 16,840 = 69,072 is obtained.

42 Though one can also argue the reverse case that the more people have access to cars, the less need there is to steal them: this is the argument usually advanced to explain the fact that, unlike most crimes, theft and unlawful taking of cars is less frequent per head of population in the U.S.A. than it is in the United Kingdom.

43 From one vehicle in 136 taken in 1960, to one vehicle in 62 taken in 1984. The number of vehicles currently licensed rose from 9.4m in 1960 to 21.3m in 1984.

44 Young, J., “The failure of criminology: the need for a radical realism” in Matthews, R. and Young, J. (Eds.) Confronting Crime (1986), at pp. 5–6Google Scholar.

45 The term “Western” is important because Japan is a notable and intriguing exception. Despite rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, the recorded number of penal code offences in Japan (other than “traffic professional negligence”) rose only from 1.46m in 1950 to 1.59m in 1984: Government of Japan, Summary of the White Paper on Crime (1985), p. 33Google Scholar.

46 Farrington el al., op. cit., p. 38.

47 Wilson, op. cit., p. 234ff.

48 Dahrendorf, R., Law and Order (37th Hamlyn Lectures) (1985), p. 44Google Scholar.

49 Ibid., p. 4.

50 Gendreau, P. and Ross, R. R., “Correctional Potency: Treatment and Deterrence on Trial” in Roesch, R. and Corrado, R. R. (Eds.) Evaluation and Criminal Justice Policy (1981), at p. 30Google Scholar.

51 It should be added, however, that the policy options suggested by a review of this kind might well relate to broad socio-political structures, and would therefore not necessarily be easy to implement, nor necessarily popular with the government then in power.

52 The burglary rate per 10,000 households in Islington was 1,225 (Jones etal., op. cit., p. 87), as against 489 in the second sweep of the British Crime Survey (Hough and Mayhew (1985), op. cit., p. 62). The dust-jacket of the Islington Crime Survey book appears to be in error in claiming that “the burglary rate in Islington is five times the national average.”

53 Faith in the City (1985), esp. ch. 14.

54 Ibid., pp. 338–339.

55 Jones et at., op. cit., ch. 3 (on public perceptions of police in Islington); Lea and Young, op. cit., (on concepts of relative deprivation and economic and political marginality).

56 Smith, D. J. and Gray, Jeremy, Police and People in London (1985)Google Scholar, chs. 1–11 (a survey of Londoners' attitudes and experience of crime and policing); Parker, Howard, Casburn, Maggie and Turnbull, David, Receiving Juvenile Justice (1981), ch. 2 (study of working-class families and the local state)Google Scholar.

57 Faith in the City, p. 360.

58 Dahrendorf, op. cit., p. 99.

59 Ibid., pp. 101–102.

60 Ibid., pp. 117–118.

61 See Farrington el at., op. cit., pp. 39–52.

62 Less than six months after this lecture was delivered, there are signs that this is beginning to occur. The Home Secretary, MrHurd, Douglas, is reported to have told the Tory Reform Group of “the extent to which crime is concentrated in relatively small areas of our country: for example 35 per cent of burglaries and over a third of thefts from the person take place in deprived and inner city areas”: The Guardian, 6 04 1987Google Scholar.

63 Although, ironically, some such groups have since become strong critics of left realism.

64 Research work influenced by this movement has recently been well represented among postgraduate theses and dissertations in the Institute of Criminology, owing especially to the encouragement of Allison Morris. For general surveys of the “women and crime” literature, see Heidensohn, Frances, Women and Crime (1985)Google Scholar; Morris, Allison, Women, Crime and Criminal Justice (1987)Google Scholar.

65 Bulmer, Martin, Neighbours: The Work of Philip Abrams (1986), p. 132Google Scholar.

66 Ibid., p. 91.

67 Ibid., p. 95.

68 Cohen, S., Visions of Social Control (1985)Google Scholar.

69 It must be said, however, that some modern interest groups would be unwilling to concede the objectivity of even a sensitive and empathetic university criminology.

70 Particularly as reflected in the Dutch Ministry of Justice's policy plan of 1985. For an English translation of the summary of this document, see Dutch Ministry of Justice, Society and Crime: a Policy Plan for The Netherlands (1985)Google Scholar; see also Bottomley, A. K.. “Blue-Prints for Criminal Justice: Reflections on a Policy Plan for The Netherlands” (1986) 25 Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 199CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

71 Peters, Antonie A. G., “Main Currents in Criminal Law Theory”, in van Dijk, J., Haffmans, C., Rüter, F., Schutte, J. and Stolwijk, S. (Eds.), Criminal Law in Action (1986) at p. 32Google Scholar. Peters' terminology has been slightly changed to accord with English usage.

72 Ibid., p. 33.

73 Cmnd. 645, parts III–V.

74 Young Offenders (1980) Cmnd. 8045, paras. 36–37; N.A.C.R.O. Juvenile Crime Unit, Juvenile Crime: Co-Ordination and the Community (1985)Google Scholar; Northamptonshire Country Council, Juvenile Liaison Bureaux: Statement on Philosophy, Objectives and Operation (rev. ed. 1985)Google Scholar.

75 Home Office Circular 8/1984; Home Office, Criminal Justice: A Working Paper (rev. ed. 1986), ch. IIIGoogle Scholar.

76 Most obviously apparent at the Crime Prevention Seminar chaired by the Prime Minister in January 1986; see also Home Office (1986)Google Scholarop. cit., ch. III, Kinsey el al., op. cit., ch. 6.

77 That is, using a conventional definition of law. Arguably a much wider definition should be used, which would embrace policy matters of this kind: see further below.

78 Reprinted in N. Walker, Sentencing: Theory, Law and Practice (1985), App. H.

79 McWilliams, W., “Probation, Pragmatism and Policy” (1987) 26 Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 97CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

80 Completed but as yet unpublished research carried out at the Oxford Centre for Criminological Research.

81 Kinsey et al., op. cit., ch.6.

82 Provision for this reduction was contained in the Criminal Justice Act 1982, s.33; the then Home Secretary subsequently made an order under the section reducing the minimum threshold for parole from twelve months to six months.

83 Thomas, D. A., “Parole and the Crown Court” (1985) 149 J.P.N. 344Google Scholar.

84 Sumner, C., “Rethinking Deviance: Towards a Sociology of Censures” (1983) 5 Research in Law, Deviance and Social Control 187Google Scholar.

85 For example, Rawls, J.. A Theory of Justice (1972)Google Scholar; Nozick, R.. Anarchy, Stale and Utopia (1974)Google Scholar; Dworkin, R., Taking Rights Seriously (1978)Google Scholar; Gewirth, A.. Reason and Morality (1978)Google Scholar; Ackerman, B. A., Social Justice in the Liberal State (1980)Google Scholar. Ackerman, B. A., Social Justice in the Liberal State (1980)Google Scholar.

86 Young, “The failure of criminology”, op. cit., p. 30.

* I am indebted to my former colleague Paul, Wiles, of the University of Sheffield, for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this lecture.