Dr. James Q. Wilson

by

Steve Cooper

*South Park Video

 

Abstract

While several social scientists have made major contributions to the study of deviance, relatively few have had a major influence in criminology throughout the world (Cohen and Farrington, 1994). James Q. Wilson is one such scholar. Not only have his works impacted academia, they have also fostered organizational change throughout the criminal justice system. In particular, his work has brought about significant change in the way our police are managed. These policy recommendations, as we will see, are often the result of his inquisitive mind, massive meta-analyses and empirical testing of various research hypotheses.

Biographical Information

 

Education

University of Redlands (AB, 1952)
University of Chicago (PhD, 1959) ***
Received honorary degrees from four universities ***

 

Contributions and Professional Service

James Collins Professor of Management at UCLA since 1985 ***
Prior, he was for twenty six years the Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University ***
Authored or co-authored twelve books ***
Served on a number of national commissions concerned with public policy ***
Chairman of the White House Task Force on Crime in 1966
Chairman of the National Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention in 1972-1973
Member of the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime in 1981
Member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1985 to 1990
Serves on the board of directors for numerous companies ***
Chairman of the Council of Academic Advisors of the American Enterprise Institute
Elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellow of the American Philosophical Society
Received James Madison award for distinguished scholarship from the American Political Science Association ***

 

*** Denotes what I consider to be extraordinary accomplishments

SOURCE: UCLA School of Management Homepage

Introduction

*How I first became aware of James Q. Wilson

 

Wilson Often Cited by Academic Community

*Who Are the Most Influential Criminologists in the English-Speaking World? by Ellen Cohn and David Farrington

*Citation analysis for 1986-1990

British Journal of Criminology

Criminology

Canadian Journal of Criminology

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology

*Found that 4 US criminologists were particularly influential in all major countries:

Marvin E. Wolfgang

Alfred Blumstein

James Q. Wilson

Michael J. Hindelang

*This preeminence was connected with longitudinal research on criminal careers (Wolfgang, Blumstein), measuring crime (Wolfgang, Blumstein, Hindelang), correlates of crime (Hindelang, Wilson), & public policy discussions (Wilson).

*Most influential criminologists in the US tended to be influential everywhere else

*However, most influential criminologists in other countries might be influential nowhere else

*But because one is often cited, doesn't always mean that their is a high level of intersubjectivity amongst academicians

 

Historical Context of James Q. Wilson's Work

 

Major political shift towards a conservative, republican political atmosphere.
FSU's School of Social Welfare, started in 1953, became the first Ph.D. program in Criminology.
Liberal discourse about criminality emerges
National debate ensues.
70s, Reagan is Governor of California
C. Ray Jeffrey (FSU) argues for Integrated Systems Model, which is heavily grounded in a biological approach
UC Berkeley's radical, liberal Criminology program closed by Governor Reagan
At the same time, Wilson and others advocate "constitutional factors"
Critics claim the conservative approach to crime is similar to an Eugenics ideology
Conservative ideology gains support across country; Reagan is elected President
This political shift gives more strength to many of Wilson's ideologies

 

SOURCE: Who Are the Most Influential Criminologists in the English-Speaking World? by Cohn,-Ellen-G.; Farrington,-David-P. British-Journal-of-Criminology; 1994, 34, 2, spring, 204-225.

Brief Summary of the Original Theory(s)

Rational Choice Perspective

*Thinking about Crime, Wilson's 1975 classic, effectively articulated the deterrence argument and challenged many of the prevailing liberal views.

*Wilson's 1975 book, Thinking About Crime, renewed an interest in classical views.

*He attacked the positivist view that crime was a function of external forces, such as poverty, that could be altered by government functions.

*Wilson advocated deterring would-be offenders and incarcerating known criminals.

*He theorized that people are:

likely to commit crime;
lack inhibition against misconduct;
value the excitement and thrills of breaking the law
have a low stake in conformity; and,
are willing to take greater chances than the average person.

* What he defined as a particular "thought process and criminal decision making" is referred today as rational choice approach to crime causation.

Constitutional Factors

* Wilson's book with Richard Herrnstein, Crime and Human Nature, broadly probed many of the biological and developmental factors associated with individual criminality.

Wilson advocates that Constitutional factors may help to explain deviance.
Wilson describes constitutional factors as those factors which are usually present at or soon after birth and whose behavioral consequences usually appears during the child's development.
Not necessarily genetic.
Gender, intelligence, age, temperament, fetal alcohol syndrome and the like.

SOURCE: Wilson, James Q. and Richard Herrnstein, Crime and Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime.

 

*Wilson Tape

"Broken Windows" Theory

* They reviewed the Newark Foot Patrol Experiment and Zimbardo's testing of "Broken Windows" theory.

* Wilson and George Kelling's 1982 Atlantic Monthly article, "Broken Windows," followed and provided further impetus in support of the notion that interaction between the police and the community was desirable to ensure order maintenance in neighborhoods.

* Wilson coined the term "Order Maintenance" which he defines as, "management of conflict situations to bring about consensual resolution".

Discussion of how the Model has been Altered as New Research has Emerged

 

Rational Choice Perspective

* One particular issue that has emerged is the necessity for congruent "operationialized definitions" of variables

* However, a major division between "rational choice" and "determinism" holds today.

* Research findings have been dichotomized.

 

Constitutional Factors

* Biological research by Mednick, Yeudall, Raine and others support Wilson's "constitutional" hypotheses

 

"Broken Windows" Theory

* Ipso facto, problem-oriented policing finds massive 'intersubjectivity'.

 

* Trojanowich, Zhao, Thurman and many others empirically support policy recommendations of Wilson and Kelling

 

The Theory's Current Usage/Popularity within the CJ System

 

Rational Choice Perspective

* A conservative shift in US politics coincided with Wilson's Thinking About Crime and his advocacy of Rational Choice.

* This shift in political ideology resulted in the election of President Reagan.

* Political decision makers have continually utilized Wilson's ideas.

 *Wilson continues to serve on national committees.

* Rational choice is increasingly popular (i.e., lower age for death penalty and age at which one can be tried as an adult).

* Shift away from the medical model.

 

SOURCE: Larry Siegel, Criminology.

Constitutional Factors

* Wilson's work has resulted in International debate over the cause of deviance.

* As a result of his identification of constitutional factors, new research exploring these variables has emerged which has added to the body of knowledge in criminology.

 

"Broken Windows" Theory

*Wilson's work with George Kelling led to the implementation of various policing models, including community policing, problem-oriented policing and the like.

 

* Kelling, Pate (one of my bosses, GO Tony!!!), Diekman and Brown of the Police Foundation conducted the Kansas City Prevention Patrol Experiment.

Arguably one the most important research studies ever conducted on policing.
hypothesized what that increasing police presence would deter crime.
3 groups - increased patrol (proactive), decreased patrol (reactive) and normal patrol (control)
study suggested that the three areas experienced no significant differences:
level of crime
citizen's attitudes towards police services
fear of crime
police response time or citizen's satisfaction of response time

 

* South Park Video

 

* President Clinton's Crime Bill

 

Conclusion

The work of James Q. Wilson has contributed to our understanding of criminality tremendously. His work has been highly scrutinized by top scholars, but the

ideas and theories advanced by Wilson appear to be stronger than ever. As our country seeks to get tough on crime, several of the policy recommendations made

by Wilson and his colleagues are becoming increasingly attractive.

Works Cited

Bohm, Robert and Keith Haley

1997. Introduction to Criminal Justice. New York: Glencoe.

Cohn, Ellen G. and David Farrington

Who Are the Most Influential Criminologists in the English-Speaking World?: British-Journal-of-Criminology, 1994, 34, 2, spring, 204-225.

Inciardi, James

Criminal Justice. Fortworth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1996.

Landis, Judson,

1992 Sociology: Concepts and Characteristics. Belmont: Wadsworth.

Lilly, J. Robert et al.

Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1995

Miller, Jerome

1996 . Search and Destroy: African American Males in the Criminal Justice System. Cambridge: University Press.

Neubauer, David

America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.

Reid, Sue Titus

1996. Crime and Criminology. Madison: Brown and Benchmark.

Reiman, Jeffrey

1990. The Rich Get Richer and the Poor get Prison. New York: McMillian.

Schmalleger, Frank

1996. Criminology Today. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Schmallenger, Frank.

Criminal Justice Today. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997.

Sykes, Gresham

Criminology. Harcourt: New York, 1978.

Walker, Samuel

1994. Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs: A Policy Guide. Belmont: Wadsworth.

The Atlantic Monthly

March 1982; Broken Windows; Volume 249, No. 3; pages 29-38.

UCLA School of Management Homepage

Wilson, James Q. and Richard Herrnstein

1985 Crime and Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime. New York: Simon and Schuster.