Sheldon Glueck
Encyclopedia
Sheldon Glueck was a Polish-American criminologist. Born in Poland
, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States
in 1920. He received his PhD from Harvard University
and taught there from 1925 to 1963.
During the aftermath of the Holocaust he was one of the leading advocates for the creation of an international criminal court to punish crimes against humanity.
He is best known for the research he did with his wife, Eleanor Glueck
, on criminal behavior. Their landmark studies of inmates at the Massachusetts Reformatory examined the efficacy of the penal system and recidivism
rates. In their controversial 1950 work Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency the two claimed that potential deviants could be identified by as young as six years of age.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1920. He received his PhD from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and taught there from 1925 to 1963.
During the aftermath of the Holocaust he was one of the leading advocates for the creation of an international criminal court to punish crimes against humanity.
He is best known for the research he did with his wife, Eleanor Glueck
Eleanor Glueck
Eleanor Touroff Glueck was a social worker and a criminologist.She was born Leonia Touroff in Brooklyn, New York, the only daughter of Russian immigrant Bernard Leo and Polish immigrant Anna Wodzislawska, although she had two brothers...
, on criminal behavior. Their landmark studies of inmates at the Massachusetts Reformatory examined the efficacy of the penal system and recidivism
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
rates. In their controversial 1950 work Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency the two claimed that potential deviants could be identified by as young as six years of age.
Literary works
- 500 Criminal Careers (1930)
- War Criminals: Their Prosecution and Punishment (1944)
- Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (1950)
- Identification of Predelinquents (1972)