Wider and deeper: The future of criminology in Europe

Abstract

The European Journal of Criminology was launched 10 years ago. In this article, the journal's founding editor, David J. Smith, reflects on the journal's contribution to European criminology. The article recalls the ambitions for the journal when the idea was first discussed, and looks back over the first nine volumes to assess the extent to which these ambitions have been fulfilled. It argues that the study of crime must draw on both humanist and scientific traditions. Because its moral and political dimensions are inescapable, criminology is bound to have a contested relationship with government. The weaknesses of the journal so far have been on the humanist and critical side, with an associated lack of deep and detailed qualitative research. Among the many strengths are lively and varied comparative studies, research using innovative methods, and articles that open up new fields and shift the emphasis away from minor offending by juveniles. Building on this base, this article discusses the role the journal should play in creating the future of European criminology.

A state of affairs of European criminology: An exploration of topics and trends through topic modelling

“…Following up on the results of this study and those of similar studies (e.g., Cohn and Iratzoqui, 2015;Farrington et al, 2019;Smith, 2014), we have identified five avenues for future research. First, it could be interesting to look into the topics addressed at the annual conferences of the American Society of Criminology, the British Society of Criminology, the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) Society of Criminology, and the Asian Criminological Society, and examine their state of affairs.…”

“…The presence of a topic referring to the (qualitative) critical study of the reaction to crime in addition to a topic that represents (quantitative) self-report research could be indicative of the width of research approaches in European criminology and suggests the absence of a theoretical or methodological domination in European criminology. However, this width is not reflected in terms of the national scope of studies, despite what some may have suggested earlier (Baars-Schuyt, 2001;Smith, 2014). One of the most influential topics, UK-based research (topic 36), clearly represents a dominance of research specific to the UK and UK data.…”

“…Ultimately, this question drove the foundation of the European Society of Criminology and led to the inception of the European Journal of Criminology. In turn, this boosted the epistemological debate on European criminology and nurtured the development of the discipline (Smith, 2014). European criminology has been described as "a patchwork quilt, with national orientations and language divisions" (Baars-Schuyt, 2001: 312) that warrants special attention as a separate and special category of criminology relative to US criminology (Tham, 2001).…”

“…Adhering to the idea that criminology is an enterprise and thus that European criminology is defined by what those who label themselves as European criminologists do, the founding editor of the European Journal of Criminology assessed the state of affairs of European Criminology by reflecting on nine years of publication practices in the journal. Smith (2014) analysed the content of 215 journal articles published in the first nine volumes of the European Journal of Criminology, covering a period between January 2004 and December 2012. He found great specialization in a wide variety of themes.…”

“…He found great specialization in a wide variety of themes. Smith's (2014) thematic analysis showed that youth offending research was the most commonly addressed theme by publications in the European Journal of Criminology. By comparison, research on serious crime, people with longterm criminal careers, organized crime, terrorism, and transnational crime saw little or no interest in the journal.…”