Convict Criminology

"We challenge the way crime and correctional problems are traditionally represented and discussed by researchers, policymakers, and politicians."

Editorial Review: Convict Criminology is a collection of chapters written by criminologists, half of whom are ex-convicts. The book includes provocative discussions of rehabilitation, recidivism, drug addiction, life inside different prison systems, transincarceration, discrimination against felons, fathers in prison, and children in adult jails.
The book merges autobiographical stories with criminological research to introduce a convict perspective that includes new ideas, vocabulary, and policy recommendations.

Convict Criminology is a comprehensive text that covers all major topics related to prison life, prisoner reentry to the community, and research on prisons, in an engaging, thought-provoking style. --Amazon.com

Editorial Review: From Library Journal
In the 1960s, peace groups issued leaflets to their members on what to do if arrested during nonviolent demonstrations. Now two criminologists have come up with a guidebook on surviving the criminal justice system that is loosely modeled after these earlier leaflets. The crimes have expanded to include far more weighty ones than civil disobedience. Ross and Richards (coauthors, Convict Criminology) offer advice on what to do if your front door is bashed in by police in a drug bust and how to avoid fatal legal mistakes. Writing in sections under topical headings, the authors follow an anonymous everyman (or woman) through an arrest, a trial, and an incarceration.
The legal system they depict bears no resemblance to the one in school textbooks. It is the enemy. The authors describe different types of prisons and suggest how to deal with the correctional officers, the other inmates, and various types of discipline. Finally, they discuss making parole and returning to life on the outside. An appendix offers a glossary of prison slang and a statement about the status of prisons in America today. Overall, this is an absorbing, original book that should be required reading for criminal justice classes. Ostensibly intended for the person who is caught committing the crime, in reality Behind Bars gives the outsider an in-depth look at what it is like to be in prison in America today. Highly recommended for all libraries. --Frances Sandiford, formerly with Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY

CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY

The "New School of Convict Criminology" is a relatively new and controversial perspective in the field of corrections and the academic field of criminology. It challenges the way crime and correctional problems are traditionally represented and discussed by researchers, policymakers, and politicians.

Our use of "New" is mirrored on Taylor, Walton, and Young's (1973) seminal work The New Criminology. This monograph generated considerable controversy and intellectual debate in our discipline. These authors were critical of positivist, functionalist, and labeling approaches that failed to consider how the criminal law, policing, and corrections were socio-political constructions of class domination and the logical priorities of capitalism. Our use of the word "school" is similar to the Frankfurt School and the New School of Social Research, which suggests a collective effort grounded in a creative and critical research tradition. (Richards and Ross, 2001: 186)

In part, Convict Criminology emerged as a result of the frustration
ex-convict academics experienced with the extant understanding of crime and its control. Convict criminologists are especially concerned with:

As defined (see Richards & Ross, 2001:180; Ross & Richards, 2003:6), Convict Criminology represents the work of convicts or ex-convicts, in possession of a Ph.D. or on their way to completing one, or enlightened academics and practitioners, who contribute to a new conversation about crime and corrections.

This is a “New Criminology” led by former prisoners who are now academic faculty. The Convict Criminology group tends to do research that illustrates the experiences of prisoners and ex-cons, attempts to combat the misrepresentations of scholars, the media and government, and to propose new and less costly strategies that are more humane and effective (Richards & Ross, 2003a, 2003b).

The convict scholars are able to do what many previous researchers could not; merge their past with their present and provide a provocative approach to the academic study of their field. The convict criminology perspective is also based on perceptions, experiences, and analytical ideas that originate with defendants and prisoners, and are then developed by critical scholars (Richards & Ross, 2003a, 2003b).

This "new school" of criminology provides research, research studies, publications, policy recommendations, and additional information on issues affecting our society, and the social policies and practices that are used to influence social and political decisions within our criminal justice system and our communities.

Convict Criminology accomplishes this mission through active engagement with criminal justice and social justice practitioners, policymakers, service providers, and those organizations and communities most directly affected by local, state, and federal social policies that disenfranchise people within our communities. As convict criminologists we conduct social science research, designed to inform public debate on alternative policies and practices for our society. Our research and studies contain practical and data-driven information on criminal justice and social policy issues. We focus on policies that most affect the lives of people who have been affected by our current criminal justice system, including victim-survivors, prisoners/ex-prisoners, and community.

In our research, we employ an interdisciplinary social research approach, gathering acurate research data and in-depth ethnographic information from the front lines. We work closely with people who are directly affected by public policies in framing questions, gathering and analyzing data and making sense of findings, and their effects when addressing public policymakers, organizations, and the community.

We conduct evaluation on current and proposed social policies and practices, and work with organizations, policy makers, and all stakeholders toward assessing, evaluating, and analyzing those policies and practices in determining whether they fulfill their intended function or inhibit their stated intent. An important part of this process is an ongoing evaluation of social policy effectiveness utilizing models we have built to identify public policies and practices that disenfranchise entire segments of our society. We measure current and proposed public policies toward assessing the actual function of the policy(s), thus providing a more complete picture of the ways in which they are carried out, as well as the outcomes of such social policies and practice.

The "new school" of Convict Criminology focuses on:

Social policies that most affect those marginalized in our society
Turning data into meaningful knowledge
Improving processes, enhancing outcomes
Forming active networks and partnerships
Empowering individuals, groups, and organizations toward advocacy
Publicizing our findings, and
Assisting with building effective Social Justice and Civil Rights policies that engender fruitful lives

Governing Values

Social Justice

We are committed to social justice and civil rights in seeking a more pro-social society for those having been effected by the policies and practices of our current criminal justice system.

Integrity

We are committed to producing relevant and scientifically sound work and to adhering to high standards of accountability. All work is carried out honestly and ethically.

Equality

We are committed to promoting social justice and advocating for those who are systematically disenfranchised. We strive to create a social environment in which all people are treated with equality and respect.

Participation

We are committed to evaluating the opinions of all stakeholders in our research and policy process, including funders, policymakers, advocates, community based organizations, researchers/scholars, and constituents (i.e., people who are socially, economically, and politically disenfranchised). We proactively build partnerships that include a broad representation of racial and ethnic minorities, victims, prisoners, former prisoners, people with disabilities, and people with various socio-economic backgrounds, experiences and ideas, and religious organizations and institutions. We apply this standard internally as well as externally.

Excellence

We are committed to producing work of the highest quality possible as we work creatively and innovatively to find solutions to social and economic problems that face our society. The convict criminology perspective includes time for personal, and political reflection, discussion about blind spots, prejudices, biases, and research limitations, and to ensure that our research and publications meets the highest standard of expertise.

If you would like to know more about Convict Criminology Contact us for more information.