F. Morgan et al., INTERRACIAL OFFENDING MODELS - A RESPONSE TO REIDPATH AND DIAMOND, Australian and New Zealand journal of criminology, 31(2), 1998, pp. 196-203
We present a critique of a paper on inter-racial offending by Reidpath
and Diamond (1998). That paper draws upon, but misrepresents, three p
ublications by researchers at the Crime Research Centre, University of
Western Australia. Our critique provides a necessary clarification of
the contents of the original research and includes a brief discussion
of ifs context and purposes. While we point out a number of conceptua
l and numerical errors in the Reidpath and Diamond paper, we are more
interested in advancing ideas on the role of modelling in criminology.
Modelling exercises need to be closely linked to substantive explanat
ion and theory if they are to avoid sterility.