The Best Science Is the Most Practical Approach to Delinquency Prevention

• Author: Patrick Tolan
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12279
• Published date: 01 February 2017
• Date: 01 February 2017

VOLLMER AWARD COMMENTARY

VOLLMER AWARD

The Best Science Is the Most Practical

Approach to Delinquency Prevention

The Contributions of Denise Gottfredson

Patrick Tolan

University of Virginia

The Vollmer Award is given for scholarship and professional activities that have

made outstanding contributions to justice or prevention of criminal or delinquent

behavior. It is my distinct pleasure to be able to comment on this awardto Denise

Gottfredson, who is an apt awardee, epitomizing the purpose of the award (D. Gottfredson,

2017, this issue). Over the past 35 years, Professor Gottfredson has conducted seminal

studies that contributed knowledge to the field in numerous areas, including:

rEffects of prevention through randomized control trials

rCauses of delinquency

rMethodology in criminology and prevention

rThe relation of education to delinquency and crime

rSchools as venues for prevention

rThe processes comprising prevention effects

rIssues in implementing prevention to scale

rPolicies that would increase influence of empirical evidence in guiding policy

rPolicy evaluation to improve impact

She has been a critical influence across a broad array of topics, all of which link

scholarship and practice in a manner that is central to the intention of the Vollmer

Award. Each contribution has on its own lessened the gap between research and prac-

tice, argued eloquently for sound research to guide practice and policy, and enabled

insights otherwise obscured. As a body of work for more than three decades, the im-

pact is multitudinal and extends influence deeply in several areas. While surveying her

Direct correspondence to Patrick Tolan, Youth-Nex Center, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet St. South, P.O.

Box 400281, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4281 (e-mail: pht6t@virginia.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12279 C2017 American Society of Criminology 35

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 16 rIssue 1