Critically assess the contribution Convict Criminology has made to Criminology
Convict criminology is a new and controversial critical perspective that is led by ex-convict academics as well as non convict academics that hold ‘insider perspective’. It critically views existing representations of crime, prisons, correction, criminal justice system, prisoners, ‘offenders’, and ex-convicts. It offers insider perspective which is extremely helpful in developing criminology and assessing the effectiveness of current policies (Richards and Ross, 2003). There were many factors that led to the emergence of Convict Criminology such as the ‘War on Drugs’. Before and during the 20th Century most ex-convict academics hid their ‘ex-con’ status from the…show more content… One main contribution Convict Criminologists provide is ‘insider perspective’ through ethnographical research or ‘lived experience’ but is this new? It is argued that it is not new as ethnographic methodologies was and is used in other areas of criminology. Moreover, it can be said the policy recommendations are also nothing new as critical criminology provides similar recommendations. However, Convict Criminology does contribute to Criminology as it provides more in-depth useful policy recommendations that are not in mainstream criminology. Richard et al., (2012) provide twelve measures that could be used to better the corrections in the United States. Another theoretical issue is their struggle to negotiate position of critical relevance in discipline. Larsen and Pishe (2012:201) mention that Convict Criminology is a “standpoint theory, rather than a fully-pledged scholarly perspective.” Another is the controversial point of sex-offenders wanting to be a part of Convict Criminology. As of now, no sex-offenders are included in the distinct perspective, but they may soon want to join as Convict Criminology is expanding globally. Nevertheless, with this being said Convict criminology still contributes to criminology by providing certain knowledge about…show more content… There are three main problems with convict criminology becoming transnational as stated by Ross et al (2014). Firstly, language issues as most CC members only speak English. Secondly, population size is an issue as United States has a large amount of ex-convicts compared to other countries which would make it harder to find PHD qualified ex-convicts who are interested in criminology anywhere else. Thirdly, there are travel limitation in place for ex-convicts which makes it harder to attend conferences in other countries. However, Convict Criminology is still a very recent development and any form of approach that is new will take time to develop. For example, when Bentham took the classicist approach to understanding crime and prisons, his theory did not stop there. Over the years, it garnered more interest and other researchers starting getting involved and developing his idea like Beccaria. Similarly, Convict Criminology has only been around for over 15 years, it cannot be expected to become worldwide in a matter of years. In 2012, British Convict Criminology was formed; this shows that Convict Criminology is expanding. BCC has garnered a lot of interest and support “among prisoners, ex-prisoner academics, and conventional academic criminologists” (Ross et al.,