LibGuides: Criminology: Books & eBooks

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The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice Offers wide-ranging and comprehensive coverage spanning 15 substantive areas within criminology and criminal justice, including criminal law, juvenile justice, education and professionalism, history of crime, and victimization Combines state-of-the-art coverage of developments in areas such as homeland security and forensic science, with the core topics within criminology and criminal justice Edited by one of criminology's leading authorities, and peer reviewed by a team of 14 associate editors, all of whom are renowned in their fields Brings together an international team of contributors from ten countries to offer a uniquely global perspective on topics such as transnational crime.
Essential Criminology Designed as an alternative to overly comprehensive, lengthy, and expensive introductory texts, Essential Criminology is, as its title implies, a concise overview of the field. The book guides students through the various definitions of crime and the different ways crime is measured.
Evolutionary Criminology In our attempts to understand crime, researchers typically focus on proximate factors such as the psychology of offenders, their developmental history, and the social structure in which they are embedded. While these factors are important, they don't tell the whole story. This book explores how evolutionary biology adds to our understanding of why crime is committed, by whom, and our response to norm violations. This understanding is important both for a better understanding of what precipitates crime and to guide approaches for effectively managing criminal behavior. This book is divided into three parts. Part I reviews evolutionary biology concepts important for understanding human behavior, including crime. Part II focuses on theoretical approaches to explaining crime, including the evolution of cooperation, and the evolutionary history and function of violent crime, drug use, property offending, and white collar crime. The developmental origins of criminal behavior are described to account for the increase in offending during adolescence and early adulthood as well as to explain why some offenders are more likely to desist than others. Proximal causes of crime are examined, as well as cultural and structural processes influencing crime. Part III considers human motivation to punish norm violators and what this means for the development of a criminal justice system. This section also considers how an evolutionary approach contributes to our understanding of crime prevention and reduction. The section closes with an evolutionary approach to understanding offender rehabilitation and reintegration.
Genetic Surveillance and Crime Control Genetic Surveillance and Crime Control presents a new empirical and conceptual framework for understanding trends of genetic surveillance in different countries in Europe and in other jurisdictions around the world. The use of DNA or genome for state-level surveillance for crime governance is becoming the norm in democratic societies. In the post-DNA, contemporary modes of criminal identification are gradually changing through the increasing expansion of transnational sharing of DNA data, along with the development of highly controversial genetic technologies that pose acute challenges to privacy and generate fears of discrimination, racism and stigmatization. Some questions that guide this book are: How is genetic surveillance in the governance of crime intertwined with society, ethics, culture, and politics? What are the views and expectations of diverse stakeholders -scientists, police agencies, and non-governmental organizations? How can social sciences research about genetic surveillance accommodate socio-cultural and historical differences, and be sensitive to specificities of post-authoritarian societies in Europe? Taking an interdisciplinary approach focused on challenges to genetic privacy, human rights and citizenship in contemporary societies , this book will be of interest to students and scholars of social studies of science and technology, sociology, criminology, law and policing, international relations and forensic sciences.
The Handbook of Criminological Theory An indispensable resource for all levels, this handbook provides up-to-date, in-depth summaries of the most important theories in criminology. Provides original, cutting-edge, and in-depth summaries of the most important theories in criminology. Covers the origins and assumptions behind each theory, explores current debates and research, points out knowledge gaps, and offers directions for future research. Encompasses theory, research, policy, and practice, with recommendations for further reading at the end of each essay. Features discussions of broad issues and topics related to the field, such as the correlates of crime, testing theory, policy, and prediction. Clearly and accessibly written by leading scholars in the field as well as up-and-coming scholars.
The Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology The Wiley Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology provides students, scholars, and criminologists with a truly a global perspective on the theory and practice of criminology throughout the centuries and around the world. In addition to chapters devoted to the key ideas, thinkers, and moments in the intellectual and philosophical history of criminology, it features in-depth coverage of the organizational structure of criminology as an academic discipline world-wide. The first section focuses on key ideas that have shaped the field in the past, are shaping it in the present, and are likely to influence its evolution in the foreseeable future. Beginning with early precursors to criminology's emergence as a unique discipline, the authors trace the evolution of the field, from the pioneering work of 17th century Italian jurist/philosopher, Cesare Beccaria, up through the latest sociological and biosocial trends. In the second section authors address the structure of criminology as an academic discipline in countries around the globe, including in North America, South America, Europe, East Asia, and Australia. With contributions by leading thinkers whose work has been instrumental in the development of criminology and emerging voices on the cutting edge The Wiley Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology provides valuable insights in the latest research trends in the field world-wide - the ideal reference for criminologists as well as those studying in the field and related social science and humanities disciplines.

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Children and Crime Children and Crime offers a multidisciplinary and research-based approach to the study of child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency. Connie M. Tang first examines children as victims of maltreatment, exploring how developmental trauma and societal factors influence children's behavior and psyche. Topics covered include child neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse. Later chapters address how children come into conflict with the law and discuss gang membership and substance abuse. Engaging, real-life case studies illustrate the intersectionality of race, gender, and crime, as well as the role of Child Protective Services and juvenile courts. In particular, Tang examines how abuse and neglect can later play a role in a child's delinquency. Children and Crime provides an innovative and accessible text for psychology, social work, and criminal justice courses in child abuse, neglect, and delinquency.
The Crime Book From Jack the Ripper to the modern day drug cartels, discover the most notorious crimes and criminals in history. With a foreword by bestselling crime author Peter James, The Crime Book explores over 100 crimes and examines the science, psychology and sociology of criminal behavior. See the gory details of each crime and how it was solved, with renowned quotes and detailed criminal profiles letting you delve into the criminal mind. The Crime Book looks at the big ideas and concepts in criminology from pirates, kidnapping and political plots to modern con artists, serial killers and rogue traders, including the Black Dahlia investigation, the Mississippi Scheme, and the notorious Jeffrey Dahmer. The Crime Book is the perfect introduction to law enforcement and criminology across history's most infamous crimes.
Hacked: A Radical Approach To Hacker Culture and Crime Inside the life of a hacker and cybercrime culture. Public discourse, from pop culture to political rhetoric, portrays hackers as deceptive, digital villains. But what do we actually know about them? In Hacked, Kevin F. Steinmetz explores what it means to be a hacker and the nuances of hacker culture. Through extensive interviews with hackers, observations of hacker communities, and analyses of hacker cultural products, Steinmetz demystifies the figure of the hacker and situates the practice of hacking within the larger political and economic structures of capitalism, crime, and control. This captivating book challenges many of the common narratives of hackers, suggesting that not all forms of hacking are criminal and, contrary to popular opinion, the broader hacker community actually plays a vital role in our information economy. Hacked thus explores how governments, corporations, and other institutions attempt to manage hacker culture through the creation of ideologies and laws that protect powerful economic interests. Not content to simply critique the situation, Steinmetz ends his work by providing actionable policy recommendations that aim to redirect the focus from the individual to corporations, governments, and broader social issues. A compelling study, Hacked helps us understand not just the figure of the hacker, but also digital crime and social control in our high-tech society.
Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor's Fight for Fairness When Laura Coates joined the Department of Justice as a prosecutor, she wanted to advocate for the most vulnerable among us. She quickly realized that even with the best intentions, being black, a woman, and a mother are identities often at odds in the justice system. Coates saw how black communities are policed differently, prosecuted differently, and judged differently. She witnessed how others in the system either abused power or were abused by it. In exploring the tension between the idealism of the law and the reality of working within the parameters of our flawed legal system, Coates exposes the chasm between what is right and what is lawful.
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America Former public defender James Forman, Jr. is a leading critic of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on people of color. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand the war on crime that began in the 1970s and why it was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness―and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods. A former D.C. public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas―from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.
Not a Crime To Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America As former staffer to Robert F. Kennedy and current Georgetown law professor Peter Edelman explains in Not a Crime to Be Poor, Ferguson is everywhere in America today. Through money bail systems, fees and fines, strictly enforced laws and regulations against behavior including trespassing and public urination that largely affect the homeless, and the substitution of prisons and jails for the mental hospitals that have traditionally served the impoverished, in one of the richest countries on Earth we have effectively made it a crime to be poor.
The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America A compelling case can be made that violent crime, especially in the period after the late 1960s, was one of the most significant domestic issues in the United States, and perhaps in the nations of the West generally. Aside from the movement for black civil rights, it is hard to think of a phenomenon that had as profound effect on American life in the last third of the 20th century. After 1965, crime rose to such levels that it frightened virtually all Americans and prompted significant alterations in everyday behaviors and even in lifestyles. The risk of being "mugged" became an issue when Americans chose places to live as well as schools for their children, when they selected commuter routes to work, and when they planned their leisure activities. In some locales, people were fearful of leaving their dwellings at any time, day or night, even to go to market. In the worst of the post-1960s crime wave, Americans spent part of each day literally looking back over their shoulders. The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America is the first book to comprehensively examine this important phenomenon over the entire postwar era. It combines a social history of the U.S. with the insights of criminology. This work examines the relationship between rising and falling crime and such historical developments as the postwar economic boom, suburbanization and the rise of the middle class, baby booms and busts, war and antiwar protest, the urbanization of minorities, etc.
The Third Reconstruction: America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First One of our preeminent historians of race and democracy argues that the period since 2008 has marked nothing less than America's Third Reconstruction. In The Third Reconstruction, distinguished historian Peniel E. Joseph offers a powerful and personal new interpretation of recent history. The racial reckoning that unfolded in 2020, he argues, marked the climax of a Third Reconstruction: a new struggle for citizenship and dignity for Black Americans, just as momentous as the movements that arose after the Civil War and during the civil rights era. Joseph draws revealing connections and insights across centuries as he traces this Third Reconstruction from the election of Barack Obama to the rise of Black Lives Matter to the failed assault on the Capitol. America's first and second Reconstructions fell tragically short of their grand aims. Our Third Reconstruction offers a new chance to achieve Black dignity and citizenship at last--an opportunity to choose hope over fear.
Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal What drives wealthy and powerful people to white-collar crime? Why They Do It is a breakthrough look at the dark side of the business world. From the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the insider traders at McKinsey, to the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the failings of corporate titans are regular fixtures in the news. In Why They Do It, Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes draws from extensive personal interaction and correspondence with nearly fifty former executives as well as the latest research in psychology, criminology, and economics to investigate how once-celebrated executives become white-collar criminals. White-collar criminals are not merely driven by excessive greed or hubris, nor do they usually carefully calculate costs and benefits before breaking the law. Instead, Soltes shows that most of the executives who committed crimes made decisions the way we all do-on the basis of their intuitions and gut feelings. The trouble is that these gut feelings are often poorly suited for the modern business world where leaders are increasingly distanced from the consequences of their decisions and the individuals they impact. The extraordinary costs of corporate misconduct are clear to its victims. Yet, never before have we been able to peer so deeply into the minds of the many prominent perpetrators of white-collar crime. With the increasing globalization of business threatening us with even more devastating corporate misconduct, the lessons Soltes draws in Why They Do It are needed more urgently than ever.