ABSTRACT
The incident experienced by one of the authors prompted her not only to write this book, it also served as an incentive to bring about change. The American Society of Criminology, a scholarly group to which both authors belong, did not have a code of ethics. There had been multiple attempts to adopt such a code over several decades, but none were successful. Despite the disappointing history of previous efforts, the coauthor initiated yet another one. With permission to use the American Sociological Association’s code of ethics as a boilerplate, she orchestrated the appointment of an ad hoc ethics committee to again explore the possibilities. She encountered resistance from some of the ASC membership, but in 2016, the ASC executive board approved a code of ethics. The code may not prevent misconduct, but it signals to the ASC membership that fairness and honesty are important.
