Freda Adler (born 1934) is a
criminologist
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
and educator, currently serving as
Professor Emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
and a visiting professor at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. She was President of the
American Society of Criminology in 1994-1995. She has acted as a consultant to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
on
criminal justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
matters since 1975, holding various roles within United Nations organizations. A prolific writer, Adler has published in a variety of criminological areas, including
female criminality,
international issues in crime,
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
,
drug abuse, and
social control theories.
Biography
Adler received a Bachelor of Arts, B.A.] in sociology, Master of Arts, M.A.] in criminology, and her [Ph.D.)in sociology from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, under the guidance of professor Thorsten Sellin,
[Freda Adler and G.O.W. Mueller, "A Very Personal and Family History of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch", in Adolfo Beria di Argentine, M. Cherif Bassiouni, ''The Contributions of Specialized Institutes and Non-Governmental Organizations to the United Nations Criminal Justice Program'' (1995), p. 3.] publishing her Ph.D. dissertation in 1971. Adler received a D.H.L. (honoris causa) from the University of Scranton in 2011. She has been on the Board of Directors of the University of Pennsylvania Association of Alumni, the International Society of Social Defense, the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council (ISPAC) of United Nations Programs in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and The Police Foundation (Washington, D.C.) She began her career in criminal justice as an evaluator of drug and alcohol treatment programs for federal and state governments. For several decades she has taught subjects such as criminal justice, criminology, comparative criminal justice systems, statistics, and research methods. Adler serves as an adviser to governments worldwide.
Adler first gained prominence in 1975 by articulating a controversial theory (known generally as the Liberation Theory of Female Criminality) in which she predicted rising crime rates for women as a result of the success of the women’s liberation movement. In other words, according to this theory the feminist social movement had increased women’s opportunities, and thirst, for crime. From a criminological viewpoint, her thesis strongly contradicted the pathological explanations of female criminality prevalent in the preceding century. By the following year, with the publication of her book, ''Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal'', she was reported as being "billed as the 'foremost female criminologist in the United States'"
Adler's publications include thirteen books as author or co-author, nine edited or co-edited books, and over 100 journal articles. She is the recipient of the Beccaria Medal in Gold of the Deutsche Kriminologische Gesellschaft (representing Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland), the Chi Omega Sociology Award, the American Society of Criminology International Division Award, the Distinguished Alumna Award of the Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania and the
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice and criminology. ACJS promotes criminal justice and criminology edu ...
Founder's Award. The International Division of the American Society of Criminology presents a Freda Adler Distinguished Scholar Award annually. Adler is a Fellow of The Max-Planck Institute of Foreign and International Law and Criminology, the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. She is a Senior Fellow of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Adler has occasionally collaborated with her husband, Gerhard O.W. Mueller, who served as chief of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice section.
Adler has three children, Mark, Jill, and Nanci. Adler's husband died on April 20, 2006.
Gerhard Mueller, Criminal Justice Pioneer, Dies At 80
, Rutgers Media Relations (April 26, 2006).
Sources
Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania
*Melissa Hamilton
at The Florida State University
References
External links
Gender, Crime and Desistance: Toward a Theory of Cognitive Transformation
Criminological Theory Summaries
Negotiated Order: Gender, Youth Transitions and Crime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Freda
1934 births
Living people
American criminologists
American women criminologists
Rutgers University faculty