Doctoral Dissertation Research: Science, Policy and Crime: A Case Study

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Science, Policy and Crime: A Case Study This project investigates the historical construction of the sex offender category through the interplay between crime control and the science of mental health. By analyzing discourses from the legislative, legal, and scientific domains from the late 1960s through the 1990s, the research examines categorization as both the condition for and the effect of the registration of offenders, as enacted in the 1990s in the United States. Intellectual merit The dissertation examines the following three questions: (1) what constitutes the offender category and how has it changed?; (2) what are the means by which facts constitutive of the target category have been established?; and (3) how did politics and knowledge interact to make possible the operation of offender registries as a significant security measure? The dissertation draws on (1) governmental documents regarding regulations, and major materials produced by non-governmental organizations and individuals involved in the policy processes; (2) the work of psychiatrists and psychologists who have been active and influential in the academic and policy areas; and (3) court opinions and related documents for significant criminal cases. Broader impact This project contributes to our understanding of offender regulation by examining the category as at once a bearer of civil rights and a threat to public safety. Results will be shared with those in the policy and legal areas, victim and offender advocates, and mental health professionals, in order to facilitate reflection.