Experimental Criminology
Prospects for Advancing Science and Public Policy

The essays in this volume report on new and innovative contributions that experimental criminology is making to basic scientific knowledge and public policy.

Brandon C. Welsh (Edited by), Anthony A. Braga (Edited by), Gerben J. N. Bruinsma (Edited by)

9781107032231, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 September 2013

322 pages, 15 b/w illus. 21 tables
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.56 kg

'Editors Welsh, Braga and Bruinsma bring readers an excellent collection of writings that justify, and strongly advocate for, the use of scientific method in criminology … This comprehensive and very well-organized work would be an excellent volume for academic use in research methods courses in criminology; it would also clearly illustrate the complexities of crime policy for the policy maker. Summing up: highly recommended.' F. E. Knowles, Choice

Experimental criminology is a part of a larger and increasingly expanding scientific research and evidence-based movement in social policy. The essays in this volume report on new and innovative contributions that experimental criminology is making to basic scientific knowledge and public policy. Contributors explore cutting-edge experimental and quasi-experimental methods and their application to important and topical issues in criminology and criminal justice, including neurological predictors of violence, peer influence on delinquency, routine activities and capable guardianship, early childhood prevention programs, hot spots policing, and correctional treatment for juvenile and adult offenders. It is the first book to examine the full scope of experimental criminology, from experimental tests - in the field and in the laboratory - of criminological theories and concepts to experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of crime prevention and criminal justice interventions.

Foreword Philip J. Cook
Preface
1. Experimenting with crime and criminal justice Brandon C. Welsh, Anthony A. Braga and Gerben J. N. Bruinsma
Part I. Experimenting with Crime: 2. Experimental tests of criminological theory Jean Marie McGloin and Kyle J. Thomas
3. Experimental neurocriminology: etiology and treatment Adrian Raine, Michael Rocque and Brandon C. Welsh
4. Computer simulation experiments and the development of criminological theory Christopher J. Sullivan
5. Experiments in guardianship research Maud van Bavel and Henk Elfers
Part II. Experimenting with Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice: 6. Randomized experiments in criminology: what has been learned from long-term follow-ups? David P. Farrington and Brandon C. Welsh
7. Increasing equivalence in small sample place-based experiments: taking advantage of block randomization methods Charlotte E. Gill and David Weisburd
8. Multisite randomized trials in criminology Doris Layton MacKenzie, Janani Umamaheswar and Li-Chen Lin
9. Using regression discontinuity designs in crime research Emily G. Owens and Jens Ludwig
10. Quasi-experimentation when random assignment is not possible: observations from practical experiences in the field Anthony A. Braga
11. Systematic reviews and cost-benefit analyses: toward evidence-based crime policy Brandon C. Welsh, Peter H. van der Laan and Meghan E. Hollis
Part III. Assessing Research Evidence and Future Directions: 11. Systematic reviews and cost-benefit analyses: toward evidence-based crime policy Brandon C. Welsh, Peter H. van der Laan and Meghan E. Hollis
12. Integrating experimental and observational methods to improve criminology and criminal justice policy Anthony A. Braga, Brandon C. Welsh and Gerben J. N. Bruinsma.

Subject Areas: Crime & criminology [JKV], Sociology [JHB]