An Assessment of Criminal Justice and Criminology Journal Prestige∗

Abstract

The results from a survey of ACJS and ASC members show that, while generally stable over time, some significant changes in journal prestige ratings have occurred. The results also show divergences between criminologists and justicians, mainly in the ratings of lower ranked policy‐oriented journals. An unprecedented degree of concordance between the two groups was noted for the highest ranked journals. The triumph of methodological strength over subject matter in the ratings of these top journals suggests that paradigmatic differences are shrinking, and the discipline finally appears to be carving out its own niche encompassing the study of crime and crime control.