David Philip FarringtonOBE (born 7 March 1944 in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England)[1] is a British criminologist, forensic psychologist, and emeritus professor of psychological criminology at the University of Cambridge, where he is also a Leverhulme Trust Emeritus Fellow.[2] In 2014, Paul Hawkins and Bitna Kim wrote that Farrington "is considered one of the leading psychologists and main contributors to the field of criminology in recent years."[3]
Farrington was born in Ormskirk, England in 1944, the youngest son of William and Gladys Farrington. He was educated at Ormskirk Grammar School[4] and later at Cambridge, where he received his BA, MA, and PhD in psychology.[3]
In 1969, Farrington became a research officer in criminology at the University of Cambridge, where he became assistant director of research in criminology in 1974 and a university lecturer in criminology in 1976. In 1992, he became a professor of psychological criminology at the University of Cambridge.[5] From 1971 to 2000, he taught seminars and supervised undergraduate law students taking classes in crime prevention and the psychological aspects of crime, among other subjects.[5] He was the director of the senior criminology course for criminal justice professionals at Cambridge from 1975 to 1978, and again from 1983 to 2004.[3] From 1998 to 2016, he was an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh's Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.[5]
Farrington is known for his research on the development of criminal behaviour throughout the life course; notably, he collaborated on the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development with the study's original director, Donald J. West. This study followed 411 London boys born just before and after 1953, and was conducted over 24 years.[3] He has also published studies comparing crime rates[6] and the probability of imprisonment given conviction of a crime[7] in the United Kingdom and the United States. He is also known for his work on evaluating the effectiveness of interventions intended to prevent crime, such as closed-circuit televisions.[3][8]
Farrington has also published on a number of related topics within the field of criminology, including crime and physical health; bullying; and offender profiling.[9] He has authored eight systematic reviews for the Campbell Collaboration.[9]
Farrington has been president of the American Society of Criminology (1998–1999), the European Association of Psychology and Law (1997–1999), the British Society of Criminology (1990–1993), and the Academy of Experimental Criminology (2001–2003).[5] In 1975, he became a member of the British Society of Criminology, and in 1999, he became a member of the Academy of Experimental Criminology. He is also a former member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (2004–2010) and International Society of Criminology (1998–2009).[3] From 2015 to 2016, he was the chair of the American Society of Criminology's Division of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology.[12]
Farrington, David P. (1995). "The development of offending and antisocial behaviour from childhood: key findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 36 (6): 929–964. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1995.tb01342.x. ISSN0021-9630. PMID7593403.
Loeber, Rolf; Farrington, David P. (2000). "Young children who commit crime: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications". Development and Psychopathology. 12 (4): 737–762. doi:10.1017/S0954579400004107. ISSN0954-5794. PMID11202042. S2CID20506392.
Jolliffe, Darrick; Farrington, David P. (2006). "Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale". Journal of Adolescence. 29 (4): 589–611. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2005.08.010. PMID16198409.
Ttofi, Maria M.; Farrington, David P. (2010). "Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: a systematic and meta-analytic review". Journal of Experimental Criminology. 7 (1): 27–56. doi:10.1007/s11292-010-9109-1. ISSN1573-3750. S2CID5433291.
West, Donald James; Farrington, David P. (1973). Who Becomes Delinquent? Second Report of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. London: Heinemann. ISBN0-435-82937-8. OCLC815962.
Farrington, David P.; Ohlin, Lloyd E.; Wilson, James Q. (1986). Understanding and Controlling Crime : Toward a New Research Strategy. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN978-1-4612-4940-5. OCLC852792490.
Farrington, David P. Hollin, Clive R. McMurran, Mary. (2001). Sex and violence : the psychology of crime and risk assessment. Routledge. ISBN978-0-415-26890-5. OCLC48677690.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Farrington, David P.; Welsh, Brandon C. (2007). Saving Children from a Life of Crime: Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-537899-3. OCLC1086243971.
Baldry, Anna Costanza; Blaya, Catherine; Farrington, David P. (2018). International Perspectives on Cyberbullying: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Interventions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-3-319-73263-3. OCLC1035389960.
Farrington, David P.; Kazemian, Lila; Piquero, Alexis Russell (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-020137-1. OCLC1028581337.