CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONS.

The article discusses various issues related to clinical sociology and the criminal justice professions. 1) Attention is focused on the nature of clinical sociology and its possible use in the criminal justice profession. 2) Specific examples illustrate the work of clinical sociologists in the area of criminal justice. 3) Specific consideration is given to the current state of the criminal justice professions with respect to manpower and training, to determine whether there is a genuine function for clinical sociologists in these professions. Authors have considered how realistic it would be for a clinical sociologist to anticipate a role in the criminal justice professions. Three comments are appropriate. 1) The clinical sociologist has a legitimate and valid role to play in criminal justice professions. 2) Concrete examples of clinical sociologists practicing in criminal justice professions are currently very limited. 3) Analysis of manpower needs in the criminal justice professions, and the training for these professions indicates that it is indeed a very realistic possibility that clinical sociologists can expect to assume a legitimate role in the criminal justice field.