Criminology has roots in a plethora of modern sciences and social sciences, which makes it all the more important to take stock of the current state of the field of criminology and consider the future growth and development of the field. Criminology’s efforts to reduce the severity and minimize the negative impact of crime is discussed as the author proposes that criminology and criminal justice education must become ever more interdisciplinary and international in scope in order to have an impact on the severity of crime. The importance of a systematic, evidence-based criminology is underscored along with the importance of critically and systematically evaluating criminal justice policies. While the ideas being pursued within the field of criminology have potential to impact crime and criminal justice policy on a global level, criminology is not a mature science, evidenced by the lack of diagnostic instruments, a definitive body of knowledge, an understanding of cause and effect, and consistent treatment modalities. In closing the author asserts that because crime is subject to the dynamics of global socio-economic-political events, in order to reduce the severity of crime criminologists must become effective political as well as scientific researchers. Notes, references