Introduction to "Comparative Criminology"
As an "outsider" coming in to talk about comparative criminal justice
systesms, I have several questions related specifically to "comparative
corrections:"
1) What is "comparative criminal justice?"
2) Why bother and who cares?
3) What are we comparing?
4) How do we compare? (that is, what concepts, theories, or
data do we use?)
5) Which countries have the a) highest and loweset incarceration and
execution rates and b) what does that tell us about anything?
There are many ways to address comparative criminology, especially
corrections. Your text (Reichel) does it one way. Another famous
comparative scholar, David Nelken, has a different spin.
"Uqs" 42 lines, 1383 characters
In looking at Reichel, how would you respond to these questions?
1) Is there a particular ideology position you can identify?
(eg, liberal, conservative, radical, libertarian)
2) Where does Reichel obtain his data? As far as you know, are the
data reliable and valid?
3) What will we learn from Reichel?
Although I will be drawing a bit from both Reichel and Nelken, I will
not be addressing either of them specifically, but will give a bit
of an alternative spin on "comparative corrections." As the talk
progresses, think about where I differ, if at all, from:
a) Reichel
b) Professor Erez
c) Your own views
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