Review Essay: Crime, Criminologists, and Public Policy

Over the past several decades, criminologists have increasingly become involved in discussions of criminal justice policies and policy-making. This essay focuses on a recent, important anthology of essays on criminal justice policy, all centering on “minimizing harm” as an organizing principle. Regrettably, little consensus but much disagreement is apparent in the writings of the criminal justice “experts” who contributed to the volume. The larger message of the book is that much of what we have to say about public policy consists of informed opinions rather than firmly grounded, scientific pronouncements.