Why Do Criminals Offend? by
Focuses on this frequently asked question about crime: Why do criminals offend? This book draws on a range of crime theories and research to present a general theory of crime and delinquency. It integrates the essential arguments from social learning, control and support; self-control; strain; labeling; bio-psychological; and other theories.
Criminological Theory by
Building on the success of the First Edition, the Second Edition features 14 new selections, ranging from classic works to recent selections on social disorganization, deterrence, critical, and control balance theories. Two new sections have been added: The Origins of Modern Criminology and Developmental Theories: Crime and the Life Course. The other sections have been substantially revised, and new introductory essays provide overviews of the different theories and perspectives and their relationship to one another. The Second Edition also begins with a unique Guide for Readers - and essay that helps readers understand both the structure of criminological theory and how to use the book's readings most effectively. Brief introductions precede each individual reading, alerting readers to key points and building into a useful road map for the whole work.
Social Learning and Social Structure by 
Criminological Theories by
With a focus on empirical evaluation and practical application, Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application, Seventh Edition, helps students draw connections between criminological theory and practical applications. In clear, engaging language, authors Ronald L. Akers,Christine S. Sellers, and Wesley G. Jennings explore each principal criminological theory using a three-part analysis:-- An Introduction presents a succinct exposition of the theory's central concepts, assertions, and hypotheses;-- An Evaluation provides a detailed critique of the theory, with an emphasis on empirical validity; and-- An Application extends the evaluation to determine each theory's relevance and its potential for controlling and preventing crime and delinquency.
Code of the Street by
Inner-city black America is often stereotyped as a place of random violence, but in fact, violence in the inner city is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. This unwritten set of rules--based largely on an individual's ability to command respect--is a powerful and pervasive form of etiquette, governing the way in which people learn to negotiate public spaces. Elijah Anderson's incisive book delineates the code and examines it as a response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope.
On Crimes and punishments by 
Neighborhoods and Crime by
This book is an excellent resource in examining the influence that community control can have on crime.
A Primer on Crime and Delinquency Theory by
This slim volume offers a comprehensive survey of the major criminological and delinquency theories including their philosophical foundations and policy implications. The text can be used as either a primary text or as a supplement for other texts, anthologies, or collections of journal articles.
Delinquency and Opportunity by 
Research Design by
This best-selling text pioneered the comparison of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design. For all three approaches, John W. Creswell and new co-author J. David Creswell include a preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions, key elements of the research process, a review of the literature, an assessment of the use of theory in research applications, and reflections about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The Fifth Edition includes more coverage of: epistemological and ontological positioning in relation to the research question and chosen methodology; case study, PAR, visual and online methods in qualitative research; qualitative and quantitative data analysis software; and in quantitative methods more on power analysis to determine sample size, and more coverage of experimental and survey designs; and updated with the latest thinking and research in mixed methods. SHARE this Comparison of Research Approaches poster with your students to help them navigate the distinction between the three approaches to research.
Emile Durkheim; [selections from his work, with an introd. and commentaries by] George Simpson. by 
The Rules of Sociological Method by
First published in 1895: Emile Durkheim's masterful work on the nature and scope of sociology--now with a new introduction and improved translation by leading scholar Steven Lukes.The Rules of the Sociological Method is among the most important contributions to the field of sociology, still debated among scholars today. Through letters, arguments, and commentaries on significant debates, Durkheim confronted critics, clarified his own position, and defended the objective scientific method he applied to his study of humans. This updated edition offers an introduction and extra notes as well as a new translation to improve the clarity and accessibility of this essential work. In the introduction, Steven Lukes, author of the definitive biography Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work, spells out Durkheim's intentions, shows the limits of Durkheim's view of sociology, and presents its political background and significance. Making use of the various texts in this volume and Durkheim's later work, Lukes discusses how Durkheim's methodology was modified or disregarded in practice--and how it is still relevant today. With substantial notes on context, this user-friendly edition will greatly ease the task of students and scholars working with Durkheim's method--a view that has been a focal point of sociology since its original publication. The Rules of the Sociological Method will engage a new generation of readers with Durkheim's rich contribution to the field."
The Division of Labor in Society by 
Crime and Everyday Life by
Crime and Everyday Life, Fifth Edition, offers a bold approach to crime theory and crime reduction. The text shows how crime opportunity is a necessary condition for illegal acts to occur. The authors offer realistic, often common-sense, ways to reduce or eliminate crime and criminal behavior in specific settings by removing the opportunity to complete the act. Using a clear and engaging writing style, author Marcus Felson and new co-author Mary Eckert talk directly to the student about criminal behavior, the routine activity approach, and specific crime reduction ideas. The authors emphasize how routine daily activities set the stage for illegal acts -- offering fascinating new ideas and examples not presented in earlier editions. Most importantly, this book teaches the student how to think about crime, and then do something about it.
Sociological Thought: from Comte to Sorokin ; Marx, Spencer, Pareto, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Mannheim by
Designed as a first-line introductory text to the study of sociological thought, this book is now considered a classic in the field and is a top seller in the Third World for university courses in sociological theory. The perspective is cross-cultural.The main currents of sociological thought, says the authors, advanced by the founders and the later masters represent different times, various cultural contexts and the many intellectual cross current representatives of each's time period. Rigorously defined (and not necessarily appropriately), these early thoughts were merely ideas rather than soundly constructed theories for building blocks of theoretical development. They provide insights into and perspectives on the structure and functioning of social systems and the conceptual frameworks for their systematic analysis. The history of sociology, then, is the history of social thought. This volume provides a carefully constructed look into the emerging social thought of the twentieth century as reflected in the emerging discipline of sociology.
Criminology and Social Theory by
Contemporary criminology inhabits a rapidly changing world. The speed and profundity of these changes are echoed in the rapidly developing character of criminology's subject-matter, whether it is crime rates, crime policy, or the practices of policing, prevention and punishment. The questionsthat animate this book concern the challenges that are posed for criminology by the economic, cultural, and political transformations that have marked late twentieth-century social life. In this unique collection of essays, a diverse group of distinguished social theorists reflect upon the intellectual challenges and opportunities presented to criminology by recent transformations in the social and intellectual landscapes of contemporary societies. As each essay in its differentway reveals, crime and punishment have ceased to be topics that can be contained within the bounds of any specialized discipline. Crime and punishment now play such integral roles in the politics of contemporary societies, are so densely entangled with our daily routines, so deeply lodged in ouremotional lives, so vividly represented in our cultural imagination, that they easily escape any analytical box, however capacious, that criminology may develop for their containment. Several of the most persuasive sociological accounts of the present give a prominent place in their analysis to crime, fear of crime, and the calculations of risk and measures of repression to which these give rise. This collection offers a series of powerful and provocative accounts of how crimeand its control mesh with the underlying social and political dynamics shaping contemporary society. It raises a series of profound questions about the political and ethical frames through which these problems ought best to be governed.
A General Theory of Crime by
By articulating a general theory of crime and related behavior, the authors present a new and comprehensive statement of what the criminological enterprise should be about. They argue that prevalent academic criminology--whether sociological, psychological, biological, or economic--has been unable to provide believable explanations of criminal behavior.The long-discarded classical tradition in criminology was based on choice and free will, and saw crime as the natural consequence of unrestrained human tendencies to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. It concerned itself with the nature of crime and paid little attention to the criminal. The scientific, or disciplinary, tradition is based on causation and determinism, and has dominated twentieth-century criminology. It concerns itself with the nature of the criminal and pays little attention to the crime itself. Though the two traditions are considered incompatible, this book brings classical and modern criminology together by requiring that their conceptions be consistent with each other and with the results of research.The authors explore the essential nature of crime, finding that scientific and popular conceptions of crime are misleading, and they assess the truth of disciplinary claims about crime, concluding that such claims are contrary to the nature of crime and, interestingly enough, to the data produced by the disciplines themselves. They then put forward their own theory of crime, which asserts that the essential element of criminality is the absence of self-control. Persons with high self-control consider the long-term consequences of their behavior; those with low self-control do not. Such control is learned, usually early in life, and once learned, is highly resistant to change. In the remainder of the book, the authors apply their theory to the persistent problems of criminology. Why are men, adolescents, and minorities more likely than their counterparts to commit criminal acts? What is the role of the school in the causation of delinquincy? To what extent could crime be reduced by providing meaningful work? Why do some societies have much lower crime rates than others? Does white-collar crime require its own theory? Is there such a thing as organized crime? In all cases, the theory forces fundamental reconsideration of the conventional wisdom of academians and crimina justic practitioners. The authors conclude by exploring the implications of the theory for the future study and control of crime.
Essential Criminology Reader by
Initially designed to accompany Mark Lanier and Stuart Henry's best-selling Essential Criminology textbook, this new reader is an up-to-date companion text perfect for all students of introductory criminology and criminological theory courses. The Essential Criminology Reader contains 30 original articles on current developments in criminological theory. Commissioned specifically for The Reader, these short essays were written by leading scholars in the field. Each chapter complements one of 13 different theoretical perspectives covered in Lanier and Henry's Essential Criminology text and contains between two and three articles from leading theorists on each perspective. Each chapter of The Reader features: a brief summary of the main ideas of the theory the ways the author's theory has been misinterpreted/distorted criticisms by others of the theory and how the author has responded a summary of the balance of the empirical findings the latest developments in their theoretical position policy implications/practice of their theory
Causes of Delinquency by
In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law. In prominent alternative theories, the delinquent appears either as a frustrated striver forced into delinquency by his acceptance of the goals common to us all, or as an innocent foreigner attempting to obey the rules of a society that is not in position to make the law or define conduct as good or evil. Hirschi analyzes a large body of data on delinquency collected in Western Contra Costa County, California, contrasting throughout the assumptions of the strain, control, and cultural deviance theories. He outlines the assumptions of these theories and discusses the logical and empirical difficulties attributed to each of them. Then draws from sources an outline of social control theory, the theory that informs the subsequent analysis and which is advocated here. Often listed as a "Citation Classic," Causes of Delinquency retains its force and cogency with age. It is an important volume and a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars and students in the area of delinquency.
Delinquency Research by
This remarkable guide to delinquency studies was co-winner of the 1968 C. Wright Mills Award for the best book in the field of social problems. The work is in effect three books in one: a forthright account of how to analyze survey data, a penetrating critique of delinquency research, and a set of original essays on methodology. It is a landmark work that continues to serve as an essential tool for those who both study and want to learn about deviance. In the new introduction, Travis Hirschi describes the setting in which 'Delinquency Research' was written, noting that it exudes a confident optimism that well-conducted research and analysis will quickly lead to important advances in the field. Hirschi maintains that twenty-eight years after 'Delinquency Research' was first published the validity of its optimistic view has been confirmed by the fact that the field of criminology is among the leading producers of high quality research. As a result, we know more about crime and delinquency than ever before. 'Delinquency Research' forms the basis for present and future studies of criminology and is a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars in the area of delinquency, and students interested in research methods.
The Craft of Criminology by
Travis Hirschi is one of the most cited criminologists of the twentieth century. His work has provoked controversy and heated debates about the causes of crime, proper research methods, and the most effective policies to prevent and control crime. Known as a spokesperson for social control theory, Hirschi always ties his ideas to the mode of investigation and the mode of investigation to substantive concerns. Theoretical contributions and research methodology have been twin driving forces throughout his career. This book contains representative selections of Hirshi's work over many years. It is remarkable how little is known about Hirschi's life and career. John H. Laub's introduction combines a discerning account of Hirschi's life and work, accompanied by an interview with the author. Laub's volume covers various topics: methodological issues; principles of casual analysis; criteria of causality; longitudinal research on crime; rules and the study of deviant behavior; correlations between crime and delinquency; control theory of delinquency; intelligence, causes, and prevention of delinquency; family structure and crime; theory of crime; crime and criminality; deviance; white collar crime; and juvenile justice systems. Now available in paperback, this is an invaluable text for courses in criminology, as well as a valuable addition to professional libraries.
The Generality of Deviance by
The Generality of Deviance advances the idea that all forms of deviant, criminal, reckless, and sinful behavior have one thing in common: the tendency to pursue immediate benefits without concern for long-term costs. The editors argue, and the contributors confirm, that such disparate behaviors as smoking, auto accidents, burglary, and rape are similar in that they all involve disregard for their inevitable consequences: poor health, injury, loss of freedom, shame, or disrepute. The chapters here show how various forms of deviance relate to one another and can be explained by a common theory involving self-management.The editors illustrate how the idea of self-control challenges the psychological concept of aggression and provides a more useful alternative for understanding deviant behavior. They also apply the theory to the family, showing how this institution is central to crime control. Other contributors bring fresh perspectives to a variety of topics: the uncanny similarities between victims of car accidents and perpetrators of crime; the connection between drugs and crime; feminist explanations of rape; gender differences in crime rates; drunk drivers among high school students; and the progression of a delinquent's life from adolescence to adulthood.In short, this book makes a convincing case that it is a waste of intellectual effort and public funds to treat different forms of crime and deviant behavior as distinct problems. Studied collectively, various crimes may be seen to have the same causes and, hence, one cure. The Generality of Deviance will be a significant and provocative addition to the libraries of criminolegists, psychologists, and sociologists, those attempting to solve as well as to identify problems.
Delinquency and Drift by
The first C. Wright Mills Award-winning book, Delinquency and Drifthas become a recognized classic in the fields of criminology and social problems. In it, Matza argues persuasively that delinquent thought and delinquent action are distorted reflections of the ideas and practices that pervade contemporary juvenile law and its administration. His ideas are as persuasive today as when they were first published twenty-five years ago. By example and illustration, Matza argues that the delinquent subculture is based on many of the same standards as the conventional social order, and that the delinquent's negation of the law is the result of his relations with an inconsistent and vulnerable legal code. Once the juvenile breaks his or her ties to the legal order, the drift to delinquency becomes relatively easy to justify. The author also maintains that being liberated from legal constraint does not necessarily lead to delinquency; that event depends on the will to commit crime. Because delinquency remains one of our most serious social problems, it is important to consider Matza's thesis that the drift toward delinquency is frequently aided by the unwitting support of society and the guardians of social order.
Crime and the American Dream by
How has America's over-emphasis on the pursuit of materialistic gain contributed to the it's high rate of violent crime? CRIME AND THE AMERICAN DREAM is an easy-to-understand book that offers clear coveral of criminological theory, using institutional anomie theory as a foundation.
Perspectives on Crime and Deviance by
This fully updated book reflects the most recent changes that have taken place within the study of criminal and deviant behavior. Now with a greater slant on crime, it presents timely discussions on theory, research and policy, and rounds out coverage with illuminating historical and comparative research examples. Organizes chapters theoretically and provides a multiview perspective for a sound, balanced treatment, with a solid integration of theory, research, and social policy throughout. Emphasizes 'crime' as a specific form of deviance, and now uses actual research examples vs. an encyclopedic review of research to add dimension and reinforce understanding. Extensively revises discussions on theory, research and policy to incorporate the most current information available. Visually supports material with diagrams, boxed research illustrations, tables, graphs, and maps. For professors of sociology and criminal justice.
Masculinities and Crime by
Challenging the common masculinist character of criminological research, James W. Messerschmidt develops an elaborate scrutiny of the gender roles that, along with class and race, influence the occurrence and types of crimes in our society.
Discretion in Criminal Justice by
Acknowledgments Foreword by Michael Tonry 1. Surveying Discretion by Criminal Justice Decision Makers Lloyd E. Ohlin The American Bar Foundation Survey The Survey Origins Research Methodology Major Observations of the Survey The Pilot Project Reports and the Survey Books The Impact of Ideology on Practice and Research Policy Choices 2. Confronting the Complexity of the Policing Function Herman Goldstein Introduction The State of Knowledge Before the ABF Survey The American Bar Foundation Survey Methodology Substantive Findings Developments Since the ABF Survey The Varied Nature of the Police Function The Infinite Variety of Situations Police Are Called on to Handle The Varied Uses of Arrest The Prevalence of Discretion on Policing The Police Decision Not to Arrest The Criminal Justice System as a System Conclusion 3. The Decision to Charge, the Decision to Convict on a Plea of Guilty, and the Impact of Sentence Structure on Prosecution Practices Frank J. Remington Introduction The Charging and Guilty Plea Decisions as Seen in the Pre-ABF Research The Charging Decision The Guilty Plea Decision Summary The Charging and Guilty Plea Decisions in the ABF Research The Charging Decision The Guilty Plea Decision Lessons Learned in the ABF Research on Charging and Guilty Plea Decisions Post-ABF Developments The Charging Decision The Guilty Plea Decision The Changing of Roles of Trial Judge, Prosecuter, Defense Counsel, and Victim in the Charging and Guilty Plea Decisions Conclusion 4. Sentencing, Parole, and Community Supervision Walter J. Dickey Introduction Pre-ABF Research and Developments Classical and Positivist Theories Implementation of Rehabilitative Theory in American Practices Ideological Framework of the Pre-ABF Research Pre-ABF Research Findings Sentencing Discretion in Pre-ABF Research Conclusions on Pre-ABF Research The American Bar Foundation Research Trial Judge Sentencing in Wisconsin as Described by the ABF Research Parole Release in Wisconsin Probation and Parole Supervision in Wisconsin Significance of the ABF Research Post-ABF Research and Developments The Experience in Wisconsin After the ABF Survey--Sentencing and Parole Release Conclusion: Discretion in Sentencing and Corrections on the National Scene 5. Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence Raymond I. Parnas The ABF Survey''s Contribution to Domestic Violence Issues Related Developments on Domestic Violence Issues Influences on the Development of Full Enforcement Policies Research Findings on Full Enforcement The Future: From Low Visibility to High Visibility; From Adjustment to Arrest; So What? 6. Police Rule Making and the Fourth Amendment: The Role of the Courts Wayne R. LaFave Police Rule Making and the Fourth Amendment Impoundments and Inventories: The Bertine "Standardized Procedure" Requirement Inspections: The Camera "Reasonable ...Administrative Standards" Requirement Stops: By "Plan" or By "Profile" Arrests: Police Limits on Force and Custody The Role of the Courts to Date Remaining Problem Areas Denouement 7. The American Bar Foundation Survey and the Development of Criminal Justice Higher Education Donald J. Newman Criminal Justice Education Development of Educational Materials Summer Seminars for Legal and Social Science Scholars Law Student Summer Field Placements in Criminal Justice Agencies Problems with Teaching and Researching Criminal Justice in Law School Settings Creation of the State University of New York and the First School of Criminal Justice Governor Nelson Rockefeller and the State University of New York Origins of the School of Criminal Justice at Albany The Role of Eliot Lumbard Meeting the Personnel Needs of Criminal Justice Agencies Early Consultants to the Albany School The Planning Year: Creation of the Albany Model Criminal Justice Education Defined Graduate Curriculum in Criminal Justice: The Albany Model Structure of the School: Faculty and Student Criteria The Albany School After Twenty Years The Spread of Criminal Justice Higher Education The Federal Office of Manpower and Training Criminal Justice Education Proselytizers The Creation of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Survival After the Demise of LEAA Location and Identity in Universities and Colleges Location on New and Secondary Campuses Why Survival and Growth? The American Bar Foundation Survey and Criminal Justice Education Today Major Contributions of the ABF Survey to Criminal Justice Higher Education Contrary Developments and Unanticipated Consequences in the Academic Field of Criminal Justice The Future off Criminal Justice Education Solidifying the Field Location on Prestigious Campuses New Student Populations Curriculum Standardizations Research Trends Increased Professionalism of On-Line Personnel Conclusion Appendix A: About the Authors Appendix B: Project Participants Index
Understanding and Controlling Crime by
In 1982 the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation created a small committee-the Justice Program Study Group (whose membership is listed at the end ofthis preface)-and posed to it what can hardly be regarded as an easy ques tion: "What ideas, what concepts, what basic intellectual frameworks are lack ing" to understand and to more effectively deal with crime in our society? Those who are acquainted with the work of the members of the Study Group will appreciate how many divergent views were expressed-divergent to the degree that some of us came to the conclusion that we were not a Study Group at all but rather a group being studied, an odd collection of ancient experimental animals serving some dark purpose of the Foundation. Eventually, however, a surprisingly strong concurrence emerged. We found we were impressed by the extent to which in our discussions we placed heavy reliance on the products of two types of research: first, those few longitudinal studies related to juvenile delinquency and crime that had been pursued in this country and, second, a few experimental studies that had sought to measure the consequences of different official interventions in criminal careers. These two research strategies had taught us much about crime and its control. Other strategies-case studies, cross-sectional surveys, participant observations, and similar techniques-had indeed been productive, but it was the longitudinal and experimental designs that firmed up the knowledge that the others helped to discover.
Rational Choice and Criminal Behavior by
Rational Choice and Criminal Behavior" is a collection of essays by experts in the field of criminal justice examines various aspects of the rational choice framework, which deals with the degree to which criminal behavior represents a rational choice. The editors also include essays that cover specific policy approaches that stem from this framework, an argument that is crucial in the debate over punishment as a deterrent and the role of society in fostering criminal behavior.
Of Crime and Criminality by
This collection of original essays is an innovative, effective way to teach crime theory to undergraduates. Each essay brings an important crime theory to life by applying that theory to a current crime event or topic of interest to students. An original introductory essay by Don Gibbons explains the origins of these different explanations for criminal behavior, and how they are similar to and different from one another.
Neighborhood Structure, Crime and Fear of Crime by
In this collection, Esther Raizen explores the significance and value of Hebrew poetry written in response to the wars in which Israel was involved during the last fifty years. The anthology includes the works of many poets, some as well known as Nathan Altherman and Yehudah Amichai and others less known. The poems, presented in both English and Hebrew, depict war as viewed by the soldier, as reflected upon by civilians, and as a force giving rise to the creation of poetry. Raizen explores in an introductory essay the issue of whether poetry written with a defined political message and in the context of certain historical events can function adequately on the aesthetic level. She also tracks the changes in the characteristics of Israeli war poetry from 1948 to 1991, beginning with the glorified patriotism expected in the 1930s-1940s and progressing to the critical ideas in the later years, during which poetry is characterized by understatement and cynicism.
Toward a theory of race, crime, and urban inequality - IN Race, Crime, and Justice by
A comprehensive collection of the essential writings on race and crime, this important Readerspans more than a century and clearly demonstrates the long-standing difficulties minorities have faced with the justice system. The editors skillfully draw on the classic work of such thinkers as W.E.B. DuBois and Gunnar Myrdal as well as the contemporary work of scholars such as Angela Davis, Joan Petersilia, John Hagen and Robert Sampson. This anthology also covers all of the major topics and issues from policing, courts, drugs and urban violence to inequality, racial profiling and capital punishment. This is required reading for courses in criminology and criminal justice, legal studies, sociology, social work and race.
Crime and Human Nature by 
Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas by 
Principles of Criminology by
This classic has been the most authoritative text in the field since 1924. The thoroughly revised Eleventh Edition continues to provide a sound, sophisticated, sociological treatment of the principal issues in criminology.
