Whose tanks on criminology's lawn?

 

 The table above from Thomson Reuters Science Watch is fascinating.  If you were choosing to go to University for under graduate or post graduate study or to ask someone to do some criminological research you might reasonably chose the University of Birmingham.  A google search for 'university of birmingham criminology' returns their Centre for Forensic and Criminological Psychology in the Psychology Dept which runs an appropriate Masters.  A search of the University's website reveals no under graduate criminology provision.  The next few results are for the many undergraduate and post graduate courses at Birmingham City University home to Professor David Wilson Britain's best known criminologist.

 Similarly the University of Nottingham has no under graduate criminololgy and again only a very specialist post grad provision.  This in the Law School.  The criminologists at Kings are to be found in the Law School teaching a Masters but also contributing criminology modules to the under graduate degree programme.  Cambridge hosts the Institute of Criminology focused on post graduate courses.  It and Leicester, though fourth and fifth, most clearly fit my idea of the broadly criminological.

So what are all these publications from the University of Birmingham that Thomson Reuters have declared to be criminological?  This is the list journals: CRIM JUSTICE BEHAV, AGGRESS VIOLENT BEH, PSYCHOL CRIME LAW, SEX ABUSE-J RES TR, J INTERPERS VIOLENCE, J FORENSIC PSYCHI PS, CRIMINOLOGY, TRAUMA VIOLENCE ABUS, SEX ABUSE-J RES TR, LEGAL CRIMINOL PSYCH, AGGRESS VIOLENT BEH, BRIT J CRIMINOL, LEGAL CRIMINOL PSYCH, AGGRESS VIOLENT BEH, INT J OFFENDER THER, CRIM LAW REV, POLIC SOC, J CRIM JUST, POLICING, PSYCHIAT PSYCHOL LAW, SOC LEGAL STUD.  I only have knowledge of those in red.

Looking at the authors and topics we find at 10th, in the Birmingham list Coupe, (Cambridge) and Blake (Birmingham) in Criminology writing on Burglary.  At 25 we find Garland (Leicester), Spalek (Birmingham) and Chakraborti (Leicester) in the British Journal of Criminology writing on Researching 'Hidden' Ethnic Minorities.  Next up is 'The management of domestic violence cases in the mode of trial hearing - Prosecutorial control and marginalizing victims' by Cammiss a Law Lecturer at Birmingham in the British Journal of Criminology.  In Policing and Society we find Best and 4 others writing on 'Gender differences in risk and treatment uptake in drug using offenders assessed in custody suite settings'.  Four are psychiatrists from a hospital which is part of the University and one a police officer.   In Policing Kebbell (Griffith University, Australia) and O'Kelly (Birmingham) writes on 'Police detectives' perceptions of giving evidence in court'.  And finally from those picked out in red above we have Piacentini (Strathclyde), Pallot (Oxford) and Moran (Birmingham) in Social and Legal Studies on 'Gender in Russian Penal Colonies'.

So we learn that despite having few 'criminologists' doctors and lawyers can top the criminology charts and that by dint of co-authoring also get into echt criminological journals.  I think a debate is needed.

Fessing up.  I acted as validator of Birmingham City University's MA in Criminology and have connections with Kings College London. Though a sociological/cultural criminologist I have no problem with psychology even biology within criminology but a deep fear that they become seen as the only 'Criminology'.  A recently elected member of the Executive Committee of the British Society of Criminology I write in my own capacity.  As a part time sociology/media lecturer at St Mary's UC don't expect to be troubling the REF panel for any subject.