Experimental Criminology: (Compact Criminology)

As the 21st Century becomes the era of evidence-based policy, the role of experimental evidence has become more important than ever. It is also critical to improve the quality of field experiments in crime and justice, more of which are now conducted each year than ever before. This book is the indispensable introduction to reading, understanding, evaluating, using and doing randomized field experiments in and around the criminal justice system, including policing; bail and pre-trial processes; prosecution; sentencing; probation; prison administration; parole and re-entry; family-based crime prevention; community-based crime prevention; and, private security. Using case studies of both successful and unsuccessful experiments, this book shows novices and senior scholars alike how experiments can be done better, analyzed better, and put to better use for evidence-based crime policy. It also shows how experiments can be combined in systematic reviews of evidence, which make the most of their potential to predict the best results from any policy decision. Designed for use in both graduate and undergraduate research methods courses in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, community psychology, education and public health, the book is also designed for mid-career government and business executives in crime prevention and justice policy. Compact Criminology is an exciting series that invigorates and challenges the international field of criminology. Books in the series are short, authoritative, innovative assessments of emerging issues in criminology and criminal justice - offering critical, accessible introductions to important topics. They take a global rather than a narrowly national approach. Eminently readable and first-rate in quality, each book is written by a leading specialist. Compact Criminology provides a new type of tool for teaching, learning and research, one that is flexible and light on its feet. The series addresses fundamental needs in the growing and increasingly differentiated field of criminology.

Table of Contents:
Ten Great Experiments in Criminology What Experiments Can Do for Your Country Principles of Experimental Design Principles of Experimental Practice Principles of Experimental Analysis Principles of Reporting Experimental Results Ten Great Mistakes in Randomized Experiments Opportunity's Knocks: What You Can Do for Criminology

About the Author :
LAWRENCE W. SHERMAN has designed and directed over 25 randomized field experiments in policing, prosecution, probation and private security. The founder of the Academy of Experimental Criminology and Chair of the Division of Experimental Criminology of the American Society of Criminology, he has received the Beccaria Medal from the Society of Criminology of German-Speaking Nations, the Sutherland Prize of the American Society of Criminology, the McCord Prize of the Academy of Experimental Criminology, and other awards for distinguished scholarship from the American Sociological Association, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He is the most highly-cited police scholar in English-language research journals, and is Director of the Police Executive Programme at Cambridge University, where he also directs the Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology.