Over the past decade, criminology, like many academic fields, has drifted away from rigorous science rooted in evidence. Ideological narratives—about race, identity, and the expendability of the criminal justice system—have gained so much dominance that bias has crept into university departments, think tanks, and even groups like the American Society of Criminology. This bias doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and the net result harms the safety of our most vulnerable communities—and creates agencies and strategies that are less efficient, resourced, and innovative. The 2024 George L. Kelling Lecture features three of America’s leading criminologists, who discuss what this ideological sway looks like from inside the academic world. They discuss how this translates into the types of research that gets funded and promoted, how this impacts public safety, and how criminologists, practitioners, policymakers, and citizens can move criminology back toward a scientific grounding.
Access the video HERE
- SUGGESTED READING:
- “It’s Not as Bad as People Think the Place Is” by David Weisburd, Clair V. Uding, Kiseong Kuen, Beidi Dong – https://manhattan.institute/article/p…
- “Crime Hot Spots: A Study of New York City Streets in 2010, 2015, and 2020” by David Weisburd, Taryn Zastrow – https://manhattan.institute/article/c…
- “Improving Police Clearance Rates of Shootings: A Review of the Evidence” by Anthony A. Braga – https://manhattan.institute/article/i…
- “Understand—and Act On—the Realities of Criminal Offending” by John M. MacDonald – https://www.city-journal.org/article/…
Future of Policing 