Understanding what violent street crime, globalization, and ice cream have in common

In recent years, nutrition researchers have found that ice cream may have as many health benefits as low-fat milk or yoghurt for those with diabetes or at risk of diabetes. Nonetheless, they have resisted reporting this finding to the media, the public, or other researchers. This leads to the question how preconceived assumptions and biases affect social science in general and criminology in particular, and are affected by the preconceived assumptions and biases of those who produce them. 

This essay argues that the production of criminology is a cultural enterprise that reflects the attitudes and values of those who produce it. The Stockholm Prize winner Gary LaFree, summarises in his address the main thesis of his Losing Legitimacy book and then discusses two recent projects that were influenced by the idea that strong social institutions reduce criminal behavior. The first examines the impact of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015 on crime and arrest rates. The second examines the impact of globalization on national homicide rates. In both cases, the results were unexpected.

Read the full address