Importance and Range

Abstract

The aim of Applied Criminology as it is understood here is to utilize directly the knowledge of the criminological research presented above in practice and in specific individual cases. The instruments elaborated for this purpose have been tested in many cases and have proved successful in practice. Object and criteria of assessment were described in 1971 in the first edition of my book Kriminologie (4th edn., Goppinger 1980) and were presented to the public in a systematic form in 1975 (Goppinger 1976). Since then, more than 10 years of experience have been gathered in applying the method to the criminological assessment of offenders. Thus, the procedure has been constantly improved: Its use has been simplified, and its reliability and validity have been tested by various persons, also in practice. Nonetheless, the method has to be developed further, like any subject matter which is directly concerned with the reality of life.