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Criminological psychology in the twenty‐first century
Author(s) -
Farrington David P.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
criminal behaviour and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1471-2857
pISSN - 0957-9664
DOI - 10.1002/cbm.583
Subject(s) - commit , situational ethics , psychology , criminal behaviour , criminology , commission , crime prevention , social psychology , political science , law , database , computer science
Background This article aims to review key issues that criminological psychologists should address in the twenty‐first century, especially in relation to why people become offenders, why people commit offences, and the link between explanation and the prevention and reduction of offending. Conclusions It is important to explain between‐individual differences in the development of criminal potential and within‐individual differences in the commission of crimes. More research is needed on protective factors, on investigating which risk factors are causes, and on causal mechanisms linking risk factors and offending. Questions about situational influences on offending should be included in longitudinal studies of the development of offenders. Comprehensive theories of offending need to be developed and tested. More longitudinal and experimental studies need to be carried out by criminological psychologists. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.