Biosocial criminology: the emergence of a new and diverse perspective

Abstract

We are thrilled to present the readers of Criminal Justice Studies (CJS) with this special issue on biosocial criminology. Given the critical focus of CJS, it may come as a surprise to some readers that the journal would host a special issue on biosocial criminology. Indeed, CJS does not have a reputation as being a ‘biosocial journal’ 1 so we anticipate that some readers’ instinct may be to overlook this particular issue. We genuinely hope this will not be the case. Thus, it is our goal to introduce a new set of readers to the emerging perspective of biosocial criminology. Here, we will offer a quick overview of the biosocial perspective followed by a brief discussion of each of the stellar articles that are included in this special issue. Relative to other topical areas, biosocial criminology accounts for a small portion of active scholars in the broader field of criminology. Even so, the biosocial perspective is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion within the discipline (see, e.g. Barnes et al., 2014; Massey, in press; Moffitt & Beckley, in press; Wright et al., in press). Several criminological journals have published special issues on biosocial criminology, dozens of outlets have published independent biosocial research, and book publishers are increasingly adding a biosocial text to their exhibits during the annual meetings for the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In other words, biosocial criminology has planted its flag firmly on the criminological landscape. What is important to realize, though, is that biosocial criminology is not a onesize-fits-all perspective and it certainly is not a research area that ‘only’ cares about the biological influences on criminal behavior. Quite the contrary, biosocial criminology necessarily assumes that human behavior is the product of a complex arrangement of environmental and biological influences. Behavior is neither caused by biological influences acting in isolation, nor does it function solely at the whim of the environment. Rather, behavior is a dramatic screenplay that requires the cooperation and input of many (dozens, hundreds, and thousands) actors, producers, and directors. This realization has led some scholars to the specious conclusion that it may be too complicated to separate the biological from the environmental influences (Burt & Simons, in press). Others have tried to inspire criminologists to