ABSTRACT
In Chapter 10, Richard Berk and David Freedman consider some of the methodological problems in measuring the impact of penal policy. Can the natural science model of experimental group/control group be adapted to evaluating particular programs? Moreover, as the authors conclude, statistical maneuverings and analyses of the results of prior studies that characterize the meta-analysis approach will not yield better empirical generalizations than those resulting from simply reading prior studies, thinking about their results, and summarizing them into meaningful categories. In Chapter 11, Alfred Blumstein, who has pioneered the use of systems theory to study the criminal justice process, uses the measurable variable of imprisonment rates to examine the "stability of punishment" hypothesis. Whether or not some internal adjustment mechanism ever operated to stabilize amounts of punishment, Blumstein's characterization of the correctional system as being" out of control" clearly points to the breakdown of such internal regulation.
