Book Review: The Future of Criminology

• Author: James Timothy Linehan
• Date: 01 December 2013
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567713496815
• Published date: 01 December 2013
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Loeber, R., & Welsh, B. C. (2012).

The Future of Criminology. Oxford University Press. 278 pp. $27.99, ISBN 978-0-1-999-1793-8.

Reviewed by: James Timothy Linehan, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567713496815

When one asks where criminology is and where is it going, a good place to start is David Farrington,

the preeminent criminologist of our times. His extensive research has earned him the rather apt

sobriquet the Leonardo da Vinci of criminology. Equally important, he has raised the bar signifi-

cantly in statistical modeling accuracy. Rolf Loeber and Brandon C. Welsh have put together an

impressive anthology of short brilliant articles inspired by his work. The authors represent some

of the top scholars in the criminological field, several of whom have worked with and been helped

by Mr. Farrington.

This is a well-organized book. The forward is excellent, giving articulate and informative sum-

maries of each article, which would be very useful for an instructor or policy maker. I would suggest

that in future editions, a glossary be provided for students and staff. The book is divided into five

sections—Development and Causation; Criminal Careers and Justice; Prevention; Intervention and

Treatment; and Public Policy Strategies.

In the Development and Causation section, the mix of past and future biological, genetic, social,

and psychiatric studies paints a picture of criminological research that is every bit as impressive as

current research into medicine, nanoparticles, or psychics. The only difference is that criminologists

do not get that kind of funding. ‘‘The Biology of Crime’’—Adrian Raine and Jill Portnoy—explores

the relationship between criminal tendencies and a low-standing heart rate. Jolliffe and Murray write

about the lack of empathy and offending and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) developed by David

Farrington. Richard E. Tremblay writes of prenatal health having an effect on the future aggressive

tendencies of the child. A consistent theme is that much more research and funding are needed in the

studies of children. Many times, psychological and social markers provide an ominous handwriting

on the wall that should be read, studied, and acted upon. One article really stood out in this section,

Terrie Moffitt’s article ‘‘Self Control, Then and Now,’’ which continues Farrington’s studies linking

childhood self-control and adult crime. This reviewer did not know that while Head Start did not

maintain the high IQs of the students, it had a lasting positive effect on adolescent behavior—less

truancy, drugs, drinking, teenage pregnancy, and generally less offending. In an era of frequent

penny-wise and pound-foolish funding, this is the type of data that more people should be aware

of. This section also highlights the need for more cross-sectional and especially longitudinal studies,

expanded studies in late-blooming crime, situational crime, women, and especially why people

offend in the first place.

The section on criminal careers has several good articles, but two stand out. Howard N. Snyder’s

article on ‘‘The Harvesting of Administrative Records’’ examines the possibilities of using the inter-

nal policy and management data of courts, law enforcement, and probation agencies to form a com-

prehensive national database. This makes all the statistical, administrative, and budgetary sense in

the world—and he will be pilloried for it. As an alumni of state and federal courts, also known as The

Land of Paper, this reviewer sees great merit in replacing extra forms from Uncle Sam with software

that unifies and codifies the huge universe of internal studies that the agencies pay attention to and

value, saving time and money. Of course, the clash of public policy and study in an information age,

while protecting personal privacy from government abuse and rogue hacking, will be a political

battle lacking in diplomacy but not in volume.

Raymond R. Corrado’s piece on psychopathy was chilling. Any line of study that uses a Cold-

heartedness Scale is sobering. It was surreal to read this chapter just as news of the Cleveland abduc-

tion kidnappings hit the media. The positive news is that there is a good chance psychopathy can be

406 International Criminal Justice Review 23(4)