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Revising the Critical Gaze: An Inversion of Criminological Theories to Center Race, Racism, and Resistance

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Abstract

Many leading criminological theories problematically focus on individuals and communities as criminal rather than implicating structures and systems that perpetuate harm. We offer a nine-step protocol to invert and redefine three predominant deficits-based criminological theories. Our inversion method produced punitive provocation theory, critical environmental adaptation theory, and socio-structural induction theory, as theoretical inversions of deterrence, social disorganization, and self-control theory. We suggest different measurement options for each new inverted theory, including a focus on the structural antecedents of crime such as racial/ethnic discrimination, exclusion, surveillance practices, and divestment from communities. To ameliorate under-theorizing and create a more equitable and less harmful society, we urge theorists, researchers, and practitioners to adopt a more inclusive, critical, and reflexive approach to understanding human behavior.

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  1. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, University Center, 411 N. Central Ave. #600, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, US

    Abigail Henson

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, US

    Thuy-Trinh Nguyen & Ajima Olaghere

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  1. Abigail Henson
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Henson, A., Nguyen, TT. & Olaghere, A. Revising the Critical Gaze: An Inversion of Criminological Theories to Center Race, Racism, and Resistance. Crit Crim 31, 17–33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-022-09665-6

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