Experimental Criminology Prospects for Advancing Science and Public Policy

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.

Brandon C. Welsh is a Professor of Criminology at Northeastern University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement.
Anthony A. Braga is Don M. Gottfredson Professor of Evidence-Based Criminology at Rutgers University and a Senior Research Fellow in the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University.
Gerben J. N. Bruinsma is Director of the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement and a Professor of Environmental Criminology at VU University in Amsterdam.