Researching Law Volume 31 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 10
R ESEA RC HI N G L AW
advisors for the curriculum of a
new criminal justice school at the
State University of New York at
Albany (SUNY-Albany).
Before the ABF Survey, academic
programs focused on teaching
theoretical criminology rather than
the daily operations of criminal
justice. But the Survey’s view
of criminal justice as a system
allowed a new academic field to
emerge. Criminal justice academic
programs appeared in colleges
and universities in the late 1960s
and 70s, which emphasized the
administration of criminal justice.
This scholarship brought together
the various agencies involved in
criminal justice, including police,
courts, and corrections into one
system. As a result, one agency did
not dominate academic interest
and research over the other.
Discretion in Criminal Justice: The
Tension Between Individualization and
Uniformity edited by Llyod E. Ohlin and
Frank J. Remington. Image courtesy of
State University New York Press, Albany
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The publication of the ABF Survey
results brought a large amount of
scholarly attention to the field of
criminal justice. However, it also
emphasized the need for further
criminal justice research. The
Survey did not provide a solution
to controlling crime but instead
brought attention to the need to
examine the daily practices of
the crime control agencies (such
as police and courts) to better
understand the realities of the
world of criminal justice.
FORGOTTEN SURVEY
Although the ABF Survey played a
pivotal role in the field of criminal
justice, several factors rendered
it relatively unknown. While an
entire library of research and field
reports were completed, none of
the Survey’s contributors wrote
their account of the project in its
entirety. The project contained
such a massive amount of data
that it was challenging for the ABF
staff to distill all the evidence into
published studies.
The publication of the books
written on the ABF survey findings
was delayed for years due to
personal and organizational
reasons, including high restrictions
of its distribution because of
confidentiality. Instead, the
significant results of the Survey
were absorbed by other projects,
particularly the President’s Crime
Commission and its reports. The
findings also influenced several
other projects, especially the
American Bar Association’s
Standards for Criminal Justice.
By the time the books containing
the ABF Survey findings were
finally published, the field of
criminal justice had already been
altered. According to Professor
Feeley, public discourse had
changed, and a ‘get tough’ on
crime initiative took over. The way
people discussed public issues had
changed due to racial tensions and
the government’s focus on the War
on Crime. Meanwhile, the ABF
Survey had focused on how to
improve the administrative aspect
of criminal justice.
Over time, subsequent work has
overshadowed the ABF Survey.
Work done in the 1970s and ‘80s
revealed that there was little
awareness of the ABF survey. But
the ABF Survey forced scholars
across legal and social science
fields to expand their focus beyond
official statistics to understand the
The ABF Survey
forced scholars
across legal and
social science
fields to expand
their focus beyond
official statistics
to understand the
true complexity of
the criminal justice
process.