Examining the criminal justice and criminological paradigms: An analysis of ACJS and ASC members

Many authors have noted the existence of dual paradigms operating in crimerelated education, including those who generally study crime as a social phenomenon (criminologists) and those concerned with agencies that have been designed to deal with crime (criminal justicians). In an effort to determine the exten of convergence and divergence between these groups, we examine the characteristics of members of their respective professional associations, the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Using bivariate statistics and discriminant function analysis, we find a number of expected divergences between these groups. In addition, however, we provide a detailed examination of recent convergences suggesting the evolution of a new paradigm, one which incorporates salient features of both criminology and criminal justice.