Abstract
The central promise of experimental criminology is its potential to lower the extraordinarily high incarceration rates in the United States. Imagining the counterfactual scenario of medicine without experiments suggests that major changes would be much slower and less effective without randomized field trials (RFTs). Imagining alternatives to our current high rates of imprisonment suggests that we might discover more effective programs for crime prevention without prison, as well as for crime prevention without courts. Research advances in the use of moral appeals and other mechanisms of attaining compliance through socialization rather than sanction threat provide a fertile research agenda. Carrying out that agenda with RFTs would be the shortest path to reducing incarceration rates.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
