THE NEW CRIMINOLOGY IS THE OLD SENTIMENTALITY

The New Criminology is neither new nor criminology, merely sentimental overidentification with the underdog masquerading as science. This sentimentality appeals to students of crime only because criminology has traditionally been sympathetic to the underdog. The hypotheses of discriminatory law enforcement and of white-collar immorality reflect such sympathy. The millenarial hopes of the New Criminology are illusory. That justice is imperfect even in relatively decent societies is no excuse for embracing nihilism or for giving up the attempt to maintain social order.     

THE NEW MYTH OF CLASS AND CRIME

On the basis of a reanalysis of the empirical evidence. Tittle et al. (1978) concluded that the presumed inverse relationship between class and crime is a myth. We discuss six problems in their evaluation: paucity of evidence; lack of specification of theoretical relationships; faulty specification and measures of class; inadequate operational definitions of “crime”; faulty analysis of evidence; and failure to examine all evidence. We conclude that the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that low class position is a source of serious crimes against persons and property.