Freda Adler

Freda Adler – Life, Career, and Key Ideas

Freda Adler (born 1934) is a leading American criminologist and educator known for pioneering theories of female criminality, international crime, and social control. Explore her biography, seminal work, influential ideas, and legacy.

Introduction

Freda Adler is a distinguished American criminologist, educator, and theorist whose scholarship has shaped how we understand gender and crime, global criminal justice, and social cohesion. She emerged at a time when mainstream criminology largely ignored women offenders; through bold theorizing and empirical work, she challenged conventional assumptions and helped expand the intellectual boundaries of the discipline. Today, her ideas remain crucial to debates about feminism, crime, international justice, and how societies maintain order.

Early Life, Education & Background

Freda Adler was born November 21, 1934.
Her academic journey is deeply rooted in the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned:

• A B.A. in Sociology (1956)

• An M.A. in Criminology (1968)

• A Ph.D. in Sociology (1971), under the supervision of prominent criminologists such as Thorsten Sellin

She also received an honorary D.H.L. (Doctor of Humane Letters) from the University of Scranton in 2011.

Her early academic formation was influenced by the intersection of sociology, criminology, and social control theory, a combination that would underlie much of her later work.

Academic Career and Major Contributions

Positions & Roles

• Adler holds the title Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

• She was elected President of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) for 1994–1995.

• Since 1975, she has been a consultant to the United Nations in criminal justice matters and has held roles within various UN crime prevention and justice organizations.

• She has been active in editorial boards and academic governance in criminology, and acts as a mentor in cross-national criminological projects.

Key Theoretical Works & Ideas

Liberation Theory of Female Criminality

One of Adler’s most influential and controversial contributions was her “liberation theory” of female criminality. First articulated around 1975, she argued that as gender barriers fall (thanks to feminist movements), women will have greater opportunities—and temptations—to commit crime, converging more closely with male crime patterns.

Her book Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal (1975) became a landmark text, challenging the prevailing notion that female offenders were aberrations or psychologically pathological.

While provocative, the theory sparked debate: critics cautioned that it risked blaming feminist gains or oversimplifying the gender–crime relationship. Nevertheless, Adler’s work opened a space for feminist criminologists to refine, challenge, and build more nuanced accounts of sex, gender, and deviance.

Focus on Low-Crime Societies and Synnomie

Another distinctive aspect of Adler’s work is looking at societies not obsessed with crime. In Nations Not Obsessed with Crime (1983), she examined nations with low crime rates and developed the notion of synnomie—a social condition of consensus, social cohesion, and normative harmony—as a concept counterpoint to the classical concept of anomie (normlessness). In her formulation, synnomie helps explain how social order and low crime may emerge in certain cultural contexts.

This alternative lens moved criminology’s gaze away from deviance and towards stability, offering a more balanced view of how societies manage rule, reputation, and consensus.

Comparative & International Criminology

Adler has also published extensively on cross-national crime, drug abuse, maritime crime, piracy, and comparative criminal justice systems. Her work pushes criminology beyond a Western, U.S. frame toward global perspectives.

She has also co-edited works on Advances in Criminological Theory, shaping theoretical dialogues across generations.

Historical Context & Intellectual Milestones

• In the 1970s, criminology was dominated by theories emerged from male-centered models of crime (strain, control, social disorganization). Female crime was marginalized or explained pathologically. Adler’s push to integrate women’s experience into criminological theory was radical in that context.

• Her proclamations in Sisters in Crime coincided with the women’s liberation movement, making the intersections of feminism and criminology especially timely—and controversial.

• Her leadership in the ASC and role in UN crime prevention institutions helped bridge academic criminology and policy.

• Over time, feminist criminology, gendered analyses of crime, and cross-national criminology would become mainstream threads. Adler’s early insistence on gender, culture, and consensus has influenced those trajectories.

Personality, Style & Strengths

• Adler is often praised for her theoretical boldness—willingness to posit provocative hypotheses and stir debate.

• Her style blends theoretical rigor with accessibility—she writes for scholars, students, and practitioners.

• Her intellectual curiosity spans micro and macro levels: from female pathways to crime to macro social orders like synnomie and comparative criminal justice.

• She is also collaborative and institutionally engaged—through UN work, editorial and disciplinary leadership, mentoring younger scholars.

Selected Works

Some of Adler’s influential works include:

• Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal (1975)

• The Criminology of Deviant Women (1979)

• Nations Not Obsessed with Crime (1983)

• Advances in Criminological Theory (co-editor)

• Various journal articles on international crime, social control, and criminal justice reform

Legacy & Influence

• Adler is widely regarded as one of the most influential female criminologists in the U.S.

• Many feminist criminologists view her as a foundational figure—someone who opened the door for more gender-sensitive theories of crime.

• Her concept of synnomie invites scholars to look at normative harmony and social integration as factors in crime prevention.

• Her cross-national focus helps criminology transcend parochial boundaries and engage a more global discourse on crime and justice.