THE 'SOCIAL SCIENCE VIEW' OF CRIME IS THOUGHT BY MANY TO BE THAT CRIME IS THE RESULT OF POVERTY, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, AND OTHER PRIVATIONS, AND THAT THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE STRATEGY FOR REDUCING CRIME IS TO ATTACK ITS CAUSES WITH PROGRAMS THAT END POVERTY, REDUCE DISCRIMINATION, AND MELIORATE PRIVATION. BUT IN THE MID-1960'S, WHEN THEIR VIEWS ON CRIME WERE FIRST SOUGHT BY POLICYMAKERS, SOCIAL SCIENTISTS HAD NOT SET FORTH IN WRITING A SYSTEMATIC THEORY OF THIS SORT. CRIMINOLOGISTS CONTINUE TO DEBATE OVER THE CAUSES OF CRIME. HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH SPECIFIC SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY DIFFER, THEY FLOW FROM A COMMON PERSPECTIVE. QUESTIONS ARE POSED, ANSWERS SOUGHT, AND POLICIES DERIVED IN MUCH THE SAME MANNER. THIS PERSPECTIVE ACTUALLY HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH POVERTY, RACE, EDUCATION, OR OTHER OBJECTIVE CONDITIONS THAT SUPPOSEDLY CAUSE CRIME. RATHER, IT TENDS TO DIRECT ATTENTION AWAY FROM FACTORS THAT GOVERNMENT CAN CONTROL. WHEN SOCIAL SCIENTISTS WERE ASKED BY NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS HOW TO REDUCE CRIME, THEY COULD NOT RESPOND ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SCHOLARLY WORK. THE ADVICE THEY DID SUPPLY TENDED TO DERIVE FROM THEIR GENERAL POLITICAL VIEWS RATHER THAN FROM THEIR EXPERT KNOWLEDGE. CRIMINOLOGISTS OPERATE WITHIN AN INTELLECTUAL FRAMEWORK THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO DEVELOP REASONABLE POLICY ALTERNATIVES AND THAT CASTS DOUBT ON THE EFFICACY OF POLICY TOOLS AVAILABLE TO SOCIETY TO ALTER CRIME RATES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)