The American Society of Criminology is an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge concerning the measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency. The Society was organized in Berkeley, California in December 1941.
Today, the American Society of Criminology comprises approximately 3,500 members from nearly 50 countries. It is the largest professional criminological society in the world. Members include practitioners, academicians, and students in the many fields of criminal justice and criminology. Roughly 60 percent of the membership is made up of university professors who engage in social and behavioral science-based criminological research. Students comprise approximately 30 percent of the membership, and employees of public and private entities another ten percent. Membership in the American Society of Criminology is open to any who wish to advance the interests of the field.
The Society publishes two journals and a newsletter.[1] The journal Criminology has been published since 1963. It is generally regarded as the leading journal in the field, and is distributed widely.[2] The journal Criminology & Public Policy has been published since 2001.[3] It is devoted to the study of crime and justice policy, with the objective of strengthening the role of research in the formulation of public policy in this arena. Five of the six Society divisions also publish journals.[4] The Society holds an annual meeting that attracts some 3,300 persons from roughly 45 countries.[5]