Introduction
Jerome Herbert Skolnick (born 1931) is a professor at New York University and a former president of the American Society of Criminology. He is also affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley. Skolnick has a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University.
Clearance Rates
Jerome Skolnick has argued that clearance rates demonstrate the reality of the criminal justice conflict model by encouraging police to focus on appearing to do their job, rather than on actually doing their job. This is a comparable argument to that regarding standardized testing, and "teaching to the test". Skolnick noted one incident where police coerced a man to confess to over 400 burglaries so that they could have a high rate of crime solving (clearance).
Quotes
- "The law often, but not always, supports police deception."
- "Courtroom lying is justified within the police culture by the same sort of necessity rationale that courts have permitted police to employ at the investigative stage: The end justifies the means."
Writings by Jerome Skolnick
Most of his writings deal with criminal justice.
- Skolnick, J. H. (1966). Justice without trial: law enforcement in democratic society. New York: Wiley. OCLC: 1175611.
- Skolnick, J. H.; E. Currie (1970). Crisis in American Institutions. Boston: Little, Brown. OCLC: 76362.
- Skolnick, J. H. (1978). House of cards: the legalization and control of casino gambling. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-79699-9. OCLC: 4004124.
- Skolnick, J.H.; Kaplan J. (1982). Criminal Justice; a Casebook. Mineola, N.Y.: Foundation Press. ISBN 0-88277-053-5. OCLC: 7977551.
- Skolnick, J. H.; Bayley, D. H. (1986). new blue line: police innovation in six American cities. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-02-929310-3. OCLC: 12840114.
- Skolnick, J. H.; J. J. Fyfe (1993). Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-02-929312-X. OCLC: 27011930.
Personal life
While attending Yale Law School, Jerome married Arlene Silberstein in New Haven, Connecticut.Jerome and Arlene are the parents of Alex Skolnick, one of the guitarists for the thrash metal band Testament.
Both Jerome and Arlene are Jewish.