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Criminology at the Freiburg Max Planck Institute: Development, Review, Outlook for the Future

NCJ Number
159112
Journal
EuroCriminology Volume: 8-9 Dated: special issue (1995) Pages: 37-54
Author(s)
G Kaiser
Date Published
1995
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The Criminological Research Unit of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg, Germany, has investigated whether the incorporation of existing criminological concepts into criminal jurisprudence is useful.
Abstract
When the MPI was founded in 1970, objectives and procedural criteria had to be established before criminological research activities could be conducted. Initial research concentrated on the entire criminal justice system in the broadest sense of the term. In later years, the emphasis shifted to such topics as diversion, crime prevention, violence, money laundering, and drug abuse. Research conducted in the 1970's revealed a high victimization rate among juveniles, cumulative effects of conflict caused by unemployment and insufficient socialization, the expansion of private crime control, an increase in the number of complaints filed with police agencies and courts, the willingness of offenders to confess their crimes, and prospects for rehabilitation. Later research focused on white collar crime, juvenile delinquency, abortion, fines, and imprisonment, with more recent research characterized by victimization studies. Research conducted by the MPI reflects an emphasis on crime policies, criminal sanctions, violence, environmental offenses, organized crime, and drug trafficking. The MPI has organized several international meetings and conferences, primarily in cooperation with other scientific institutions, to review criminological research and to examine the future of criminological research. 54 footnotes