ABSTRACT
Introduction In the previous four chapters we looked at some of the roots of what we now understand as criminology. By the 1930s – the period we begin from in this chapter – criminology was still not a term that was widely used. However, this was soon to change, and what has subsequently become known as the Chicago School is central to that process. Indeed, according to Leon Radzinowicz (1962: 117-118):
In the years between the two world wars, the signifi cance of criminological studies in the United States of America increased out of all recognition. The European infl uence was transcended . . . American criminology entered upon its germinal phase . . . It became an independent discipline, unmistakably original in its approach and conclusions, full of explanatory vigour, attracting minds of outstanding ability.
