Criminal justice uses knowledge gained from criminology to uphold justice. Through the incorporation of law enforcers, criminal investigators, judicial courts and federal prisons, criminal justice serves to restore social justice through societal responses to crime. Terrorism is a massive threat to national security for any nation worldwide, hence termed as a form of criminal activity. Criminal justice presents three philosophical approaches that are used in criminal justice research as they serve different purposes and are evident in the criminal justice research following the Paris terrorist attacks of 2015.
One of the philosophical approaches to criminal justice research is the positivist approach (Kraska & Neuman, 2011). This approach emphasizes objectivity and objective reality, as opposed to just basing the analysis of perceptions created out of observation. This theory calls for objectivity when analyzing and testing ideas following a terrorist attack (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). Based on this approach, criminal justice researchers are required to conduct systematic planning and investigations, while documenting all procedures for public disclosure (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). They are also needed to clarify any assumptions based on the events witnessed during a terror attack.
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The approach also requires researchers to be skeptical towards existing knowledge. For instance, during the Paris attacks, issues of gun ownership took center stage, whereby existing knowledge on the legal ownership of guns did not highlight the associated risks with gun possession (Nalli, 2017). Through the positivist theory, the risks associated with legal gun ownership, such as terrorism, were brought to light and facilitated criminal justice.
The second philosophical approach is the interpretive theory (Kraska & Neuman, 2011). According to interpretivism, the goal of criminal justice is to create social change. Researchers using this theory uphold the need to achieve a more just society. This approach focuses on the nature of both persons, society and the relationship between the two (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). Interpretivism is based on the assumptions of good, pointing out that researchers should get information from stakeholder groups (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). Despite the use of academic information, interpretivism requires that criminal justice researchers have a personal interpretation of the knowledge gained.
An application of this theory in the Paris attacks is represented by the European Union’s efforts to combat legal gun ownership based on the assumptions that they aided in terrorism. The European Parliament sought to deactivate firearm possession based on the idea that it promoted terrorism (Nalli, 2017). However, this was not a long term decision and warranted further intervention to prevent terrorism and activate the right to firearm possession.
The third philosophical approach to criminal justice research is the integrated approach (Kraska & Neuman, 2011). This approach combines the viewpoints of both positivism and interpretivism. According to this approach, researchers should focus on elaborating human experiences through scientific methods, while also paying attention to the meanings of these experiences (Bachman & Schutt, 2013). Researchers should, therefore, be objective while focusing on personal interpretations of a terrorist event.
This approach was applied in the investigations of the Paris attacks of 2015 whereby researchers found a link between both legal gun ownership and terrorism. In the wake of this information, the European Parliament issued a directive protecting the right to gun ownership based on the risks presented by this right (Nalli, 2017). As such, the gun ownership directive switched from being market-driven to being security-oriented (Nalli, 2017).
In conclusion, criminal justice research employs the philosophical approaches of positivism, interpretivism, and integration in researching on terrorist attacks. Integration incorporates both positivist and interpretivist ideologies. These approaches were all used in the Paris attacks to determine the issue of gun ownership and its relation to terrorism.
References
Bachman, R., & Schutt, R. (2013). The practice of research in criminology and criminal justice . Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage.
Kraska, P., & Neuman, W. (2011). Criminal justice and criminology research methods (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.
Nalli, I. (2017). More security – the new normal for the EU? – Neofunctional analysis of the EU’s firearms directive (Postgraduate). University of Tampere.
