![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Causes & prevention of crime
According to the Justice Department's National Crime Survey, the crime rate in the United States is lower today than it was when Nixon was in the White House. In spite of this, political leaders demand nationwide prison construction as a response to the war on drugs and to accommodate the results of the new three strikes law. At the same time, the gap between rich and poor is wider than ever and the needs of the non-disruptive poor are being ignored by the economic and political elites to the point of unprecedented homelessness. The author predicts this widening gap will prompt the return of 1960s-style civil turmoil which will lead to the end of the war on drugs and the emptying of hundreds of thousands of cells so the protesting poor can be plausibly threatened with incarceration.
The development of ideas and policy on the control of crime has become an increasingly international affair, necessarily so as crime increasingly crosses national boundaries and as international cooperation in the form of police cooperation, international treaties, protocols and conventions takes firmer shape. Much less well understood, however, is the process whereby ideas about crime control developed in one context are transferred into different countries or regions, and in doing so are then shaped, naturalised and changed in their new context. process of policy transfer and reception. How are particular slogans (zero tolerance policing), gadgets, technical vocabularies (electronic monitoring) and rhetoric (war against crime) spread from place to another, and what new meanings do they take on when this takes place? How are these ideas changed when they meet resistance and counter discourses, and encounter strong local traditions and sensibilities? How differently then are ostensibly similar vocabularies taken up and applied in the distinct settings they encounter. to explore these issues. Their book makes a significant contribution not only to an understanding of crime control policy but of the nature of the process of globalization itself.
This book reviews the impact of residential design on crime and considers the current, and historic, importance placed upon crime prevention within the planning system. Armitage provides a comprehensive review of policy and practice in planning crime prevention both nationally and internationally.Bridging the gap between design and criminology, Armitage uses opportunity theories to provide practical recommendations for the implementation of design. Enhanced by extensive visual examples, the book promotes a collaborative, long-term approach of designing out crime, conveying the positive impact of design upon the environment and crime prevention.This book will appeal to scholars in criminology, policing, urban studies and architecture as well as practitioners in the role of planning, developing and managing residential housing.
Communities are finding that the excess of low-level crime, such as soliciting prostitution, is affecting quality of life. New York City created The Midtown Community Court to combat these problems in an efficient and reasonable manner and to address the concerns and needs of citizens outside of the traditional court system. The Midtown Community Court is a pilot project implemented in New York by the National Center for Courts, the Center for Court Innovation, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice to identify how the court system could resolve many of the problems that plagued the Midtown community. This book shows the significant impact and success that can be accomplished when courts are designed to meet the needs of the community regardless of traditional proceedings. The presentation of this unique approach marks the way for courts and ancillary justice agencies of all sizes to work together to build community confidence and assure not only quality of life but quality of justice.
This sixth volume "Advances in Criminological Theory "is testimony to a resurgent interest in anomie-strain theory, which began in the mid-1980s and continues unabated into the 1990s. Contributors focus on the new body of empirical research and theorizing that has been added to the anomie tradition that extends from Durkheim to Merton. The first section is a major, 75-page statement by Robert K. Merton, examining the development of the anomie-and-opportunity-struc-ture paradigm and its significance to criminology. "The Legacy of Anomie Theory "assesses the theory's continuing usefulness, explains the relevance of Merton's concept of goals/means disparity as a psychological mechanism in the explanation of delinquency, and compares strain theory with social control theory. A macrosociological theoretical formulation is used to explain the association between societal development and crime rates. In other chapters, anomie is used to explain white-collar crime and to explore the symbiotic relationship between Chinese gangs and adult criminal organizations within the cultural, economic, and political context of the American-Chinese community. Contributors include: David F. Greenberg, Sir Leon Radzinowicz, Richard Rosenfeld, Steven F. Messner, David Weisburd, Ellen Chayet, Ko-lin Chin, Jeffrey Pagan, John P. Hoffmann, Timothy Ireland, S. George Vincent-nathan, Michael J. Lynch, W. Byron Groves, C. Ray Jeffery, Gilbert Geis, Thomas J. Bernard, Nikos Passas, Robert Agnew, Gary F. Jensen, Deborah V. Cohen, Elin Waring, and Bonnie Berry. "The Legacy of Anomie Theory \s "important for criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and other professionals seeking to understand crime and violence in culture.
Over the past thirty years social scientists and particularly social historians have stressed the need to take popular protest seriously. The corollary of this, the need to take the policing of protest seriously, seems to have been less well acknowledged. The aim of this volume is to redress this situation by probing, in depth, a limited number of incidents of public disorder and focusing particularly on the role of the police. In doing so, this collection will draw out general patterns of police provocation and public responses and suggest general hypotheses. The incidents explored range across Europe and the United States, involve different kinds of political regime, and are drawn from both the interwar and the postwar years. They pose important questions about the effects of riot training and specialist equipment for the police, about the reality and roles of "agitators" and of "rotten apples" amongst the police, and about the role of the media and the courts in fostering certain kinds of undesirable and counterproductive police behavior. Richard Bessel is Professor of Twentieth-Century History at the University of York. His publications include Political Violence and the Rise of Nazism and Germany after the First World War. Clive Emsley is Professor of History at the Open University and Co-Director of the European Centre for the Study of Policing. His publications include Crime and Society in England, 1750-1900 and The English Police: A Political and Social History. Since 1995 he has been President of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice.
In "Making Trouble" leading scholars in criminology, sociology, criminal justice, women's studies, and social history explore the mediated cultural dynamics that construct images and understanding of crime, deviance, and control. Contributors examine the intertwined practices of the mass media, criminal justice agencies, political power holders, and criminal and deviant subcultures in producing and consuming contested representations of legality and illegality. While the collection provides broad analysis of contemporary topics, it also weaves this analysis around a set of innovative and unifying themes. These include the emergence of "situated media" within and between the various subcultures of crime, deviance, and control; the evolution of policing and social control as complex webs of mediated and symbolic meaning; the role of power, identity, and indifference in framing contemporary crime controversies, with special attention paid to the gendered construction of crime, deviance and control; and the importance of historical and cross-cultural dynamics in shaping understandings of crime, deviance, and control.
The more generous social welfare system in Europe is one of the most important differences between the European and the US society. Defenders of the European welfare state argue that it improves social cohesion and prevents crime. On the other hand, the US economy is performing quite well such that crime rates might come down due to better legal income opportunities. This book takes this trade-off as a point of departure and contributes to a better interdisciplinary understanding of the interactions between crime, economic performance and social exclusion. It evaluates the existing economic and criminological research and provides innovative empirical investigations on the basis of international panel data sets from different levels of regional aggregation. Among other aspects, results clearly reveal the crime reducing potential of intact families and the link beween crime and labour market. A special focus is on estimating the consequences of crime, a topic rarely analysed in literature.
This new paperback comprehensively reviews the research evidence on the links between guns, violence, and gun control, and reports results of the author's own research as well. In Targeting Guns, Kleck follows the line of argument and careful statistical inference of his earlier prizewinning volume, Point Blank, while updating the literature reviews and statistical information, and adding two chapters.
Over the past thirty years social scientists and particularly social historians have stressed the need to take popular protest seriously. The corollary of this, the need to take the policing of protest seriously, seems to have been less well acknowledged. The aim of this volume is to redress this situation by probing, in depth, a limited number of incidents of public disorder and focusing particularly on the role of the police. In doing so, this collection will draw out general patterns of police provocation and public responses and suggest general hypotheses. The incidents explored range across Europe and the United States, involve different kinds of political regime, and are drawn from both the interwar and the postwar years. They pose important questions about the effects of riot training and specialist equipment for the police, about the reality and roles of "agitators" and of "rotten apples" amongst the police, and about the role of the media and the courts in fostering certain kinds of undesirable and counterproductive police behavior.
The "Handbook" clearly points out that although the literature on crime prevention is voluminous, the social conditions that invoke criminality are resistant to social change. The articles repeatedly demand a critical evaluation of prevention theories and programs, and call for accountability within the crime-prevention profession. The collection will serve as a valuable resource for policymakers and practitioners as well as for academics. The volume includes an excellent directory of crime/delinquency-prevention organizations and a supplementary bibliography. "Choice" In recent years, the idea of prevention as a means of controlling crime has gained unprecedented popularity. Advocates of crime prevention frequently see its proactive nature to be superior to the reactive stance of typical law enforcement. Yet major questions continue to arise about what prevention is, how it can be carried out, to whom it should be directed and where it can best be implemented. Elmer E. Johnson has drawn together a variety of perspectives in an effort to provide an integrated analysis of fundamental concepts relating to the preventive approach.
Bringing together an international group of authors, this book addresses the important issues lying at the intersection between urban space, on the one hand, and incivilities and urban harm, on the other. Progressive urbanisation not only influences people's living conditions, their well-being and health but may also generate social conflict and consequently fuel disorder and crime. Rooted in interdisciplinary scholarship, this book considers a range of urban issues, focussing specifically on their sensory, emotive, power and structural dimensions. The visual, audio and olfactory components that offend or harm are inspected, including how urban social control agencies respond to violations of imposed sensory regimes. Emotive dimensions examined include the consideration of people emotions and sensibilities in the perception of incivilities, in the shaping of social control to deviant phenomena, and their role in activating or suppressing people's resistance towards otherwise harmful everyday practices. Power and structural dimensions examine the agents who decide and define what anti-social and harmful is and the wider socio-economic and cultural setting in which urbanites and social control agents operate. Connecting with sensory and affective turns in other disciplines, the book offers an original, distinctive and nuanced approach to understanding the harms, disorder and social control in the city. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to those engaged with criminology, sociology, human geography, psychology, urban studies, socio-legal studies and all those interested in the relationship between urban space and urban harm.
This book examines the implications of the professional and judicial discourses on migrant youth in the Belgian youth justice system. Drawing on a detailed study of 55 court case files and in-depth interviews with over forty youth justice professionals, the book explores the problematisations of migrant Roma and Caucasian young people in the youth justice system to argue that they result in 'discursive harms'. It discusses the assumptions and the effects of explanations of deviant behaviour, ambiguities in representations of young people's agency and responsibility, differing assumptions about the moral potential of Roma and Caucasian families, and the reframing of assessments in school-based reports as signals of delinquency. The book reflects on how to address the 'discursive harms' identified and calls for a review of protection practices and ideals from a fundamental rights perspective. This book contributes to a topic that will have increasing significance for youth justice practice in Belgium as well as the rest of Europe.
This edited collection is concerned with the ideas, challenges, demands and framework of conditions behind police education from an international perspective. Whilst not directly concerned with a classical comparison of education concepts from different countries, the broad range of international contributors consider issues such as professionalization programmes, how higher education programmes influence police organizations, as well how higher education influences police practice in a global context. Examining a wide array of countries from Germany to China and Brazil to show the flawed nature of an education system based purely upon an approach concerned with police officer numbers, the editors of this book argue for the need for greater scientific education among police around the world to meet contemporary developments. A timely and well-informed study, this book meets a crucial gap in the literature and will serve as an important contribution to existing work on policing, crime prevention, and theoretical criminology.
Prevention of a chronic societal problem such as sexual victimization requires looking beyond individuals to the systemic factors that maintain the problem. Sexual Assault and Abuse addresses the need to change social and cultural beliefs and practices that permit the sexual victimization of women and children. Potential rapists and victims are viewed within the context of the social and cultural factors that shape sexual behavior. The book discusses rape prevention approaches ranging from changing individuals and groups to changing the social and cultural factors that permit and promote sexual victimization.Research in the social sciences, in education, and in the media documents the promise as well as the problems with efforts to change social and cultural beliefs and practices to create a sexually safe society. Sexual Assault and Abuse integrates recent advances in research on sexual assault and prevention into strategies to prevent sexual victimization, with a focus on the role of sociocultural factors.In Sexual Assault and Abuse, editor Carolyn F. Swift brings together authors who thoughtfully examine the perpetrators and victims of sexual assault/abuse in an effort to change or obliterate sociocultural factors which maintain or promote this behavior. Topics covered include: the sociocultural context of sexual assault/abuse the need to develop multiple-level prevention programs development of sexually abusive behavior in men and boys the relationship between pornography and sexual assault/abuse the need for culturally-sensitive prevention programs the significance of sexual revictimization in the lives of African American women an ecological approach to the prevention of sexual harassment utilization of social science research to develop public policy on pornography use of public information campaigns to prevent intrafamilial child sexual abuse within Hispanic familiesSexual Assault and Abuse identifies sociocultural risks associated with sexual assault/abuse and explores ways to reduce these risks, from a prevention perspective, for diverse populations. Risks addressed include gender inequities, pornography, worksites hostile to women, previous victimization in African American females, sexist and racist beliefs, and media violence against women. Prevention programs range from interventions to stop the development of sexually abusive behavior in boys and men, through programs that take account of ethnic diversity in language, history, and culture, to those that promote empowerment of women. By addressing the environmental context in which sexual assault occurs, the authors in Sexual Assault and Abuse broaden their focus to incorporate both potential perpetrators and potential victims in an ecological perspective which permits new approaches to prevention. This book is of special interest and value to academics and practitioners of psychology, psychiatry, and social work, therapists and counselors, women's studies professionals, sociologists, anthropologists, feminists, rape crisis center staff and volunteers, and battered women center staff and volunteers.
'A masterclass in crime fiction' Jane E James The BRAND NEW thriller from bestselling author Ross Greenwood! When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it's either children fooling around or a worrying racially-motivated crime. As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. An idea suggested by pathologist Mortis makes Barton suspect he has the arsonist's motives wrong. When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. But with all of them acting suspiciously, he knows for sure that one or more of them must be lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control. Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn? DI Barton is back as Ross Greenwood continues with his bestselling series, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin. Praise for Ross Greenwood: 'Move over Rebus and Morse; a new entry has joined the list of great crime investigators in the form of Detective Inspector John Barton. A rich cast of characters and an explosive plot kept me turning the pages until the final dramatic twist.' author Richard Burke 'Master of the psychological thriller genre Ross Greenwood once again proves his talent for creating engrossing and gritty novels that draw you right in and won't let go until you've reached the shocking ending.' Caroline Vincent at Bitsaboutbooks blog 'Ross Greenwood doesn't write cliches. What he has written here is a fast-paced, action-filled puzzle with believable characters that's spiced with a lot of humour.' author Kath Middleton
This book is a welcome study of the impact of citizen action on crime and on the fear of crime. The author obtained the consent and cooperation of the Guardian Angels to use their activities in Harlem and the Bronx as a model in determining the effectiveness of such operations. In addition, on-site interviews were conducted with 2,700 nighttime subway riders, making this work the first substantial study of passenger attitudes and fears. Contradicting many previously held beliefs, these data show that actual incidents of subway crime are remarkably low and that fear of crime among nighttime riders, while high, is not exceptional when compared to fear previously found in above ground settings. Moreover, the activities of the Guardian Angels were found to have no apparent effect on crime or on overall fear and did not increase the willingness of passengers to help one another.
This book examines community-based approaches to counter-terrorism through an analysis of the notions of community, partnership, engagement, gender and religion in order to shed new light on the potential of, and drawbacks to these approaches. Dr. Spalek stresses the need for policy makers and practitioners to reflect on the effectiveness of the initiatives that they are engaged with, particularly in relation to how community-targeted or community-focused they are.
From the stranger in the car, to the madman at her door... Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell 'It's a shocking thriller that grabs at your emotions on every page! Loved it.' bestselling author Lauren North The day my path crossed with Simon Fox I thought I'd already lost everything but then he almost ran me off the road with his flash car and belittling jibes. The men in my life had undermined me for too long. Enough was enough. Fuelled by alcohol and the desire to get even, I decided a spot of petty vandalism would make me feel a whole lot better. Wrong. Very wrong... I hadn't realised that Simon Fox was not a man to be messed with. He showed me just how much I still had left to lose. Soon I was battling for my home, family and life. Praise for Gemma Rogers: 'Captivating and enthralling, a story of revenge, infidelity, friendship and love. An outstanding book by an outstanding author, I give this book five shiny golden stars' Anita Waller 'A well-written and thoroughly entertaining thriller from a very talented author' John Nicoll 'Unputdownable. a nail-biting thriller that grips to the very last page.' Keri Beevis 'A beautifully written edge-of-your-seat thriller that had me guessing right until the end' Dreda Say Mitchell 'A brilliant thriller from an exciting new voice. Stalker it had me on the edge of my seat' Kerry Barnes 'An atmospheric, taut thriller which keeps you hooked from the first page' Jacqui Rose 'A cracking read. Brilliantly written characters and a gripping plot. Highly recommended.' Caz Finlay 'A page-turning must-read. It will have you hooked from the first page until the last' Stephanie Harte 'An intense thriller - it's a must-read' Sam Michaels 'An incredible read that had me engrossed from the first page. A five-star read' Alex Kane 'A real page turner, full of sinister secrets' Casey Kelleher
This book reviews the key controversies surrounding the police power to stop and search members of the public. It explores the history and development of these powers, assesses their effectiveness in tackling crime and their impact on public trust and confidence as well as on-going attempts at regulation and reform.
Smart societies pose new challenges for police organizations. Demands for more efficiency and effectiveness test police organizations which are often resistant to change. This book uses the concept of the abstract police to describe the way in which police organizations have tried to adapt to these new evolutions and the consequences. The chapters stem from a conference called "Street Policing in a Smart Society" which sought to frame and analyse these developments in policing. In this book, the concept of the abstract police is introduced, analysed and then challenged from different angles, looking at the evolutions related to technology, plural policing, police discretion and police decision making. As such, the book is a reflection of current debates on policing and police organization, aiming to give input to the debate by providing new insights on police and police work.
Sport-based crime prevention programmes are becoming increasingly popular worldwide but until now there has been very little research on the effectiveness of such approaches. Bringing together authoritative evidence from existing programmes, the authors identify and analyse emerging successful practices. Covering mentoring and coaching, particularly as they relate to Positive Youth Development (PYD) programmes, the authors explore how the development of core life skills can improve individual resilience and decrease the risk of criminal involvement. The book conceptualizes the links between criminological theory and PYD and gives recommendations for future policy and practice.
Criminology and Democratic Politics brings together a range of international leading experts to consider the relationship between criminology and democratic politics. How does criminology relate to democratic politics? What has been the impact of criminology on crime and justice? How can we make sense of the uses, non-uses, and abuses of criminology? Such questions are far from new, but in recent times they have moved to the centre of debate in criminology in different parts of the world. The chapters in Criminology and Democratic Politics aim to contribute to this global debate. Chapters cover a range of themes such as punishment, knowledge, and penal politics; crime, fear, and the media; democratic politics and the uses of criminological knowledge; and the public role of criminology. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, and politics and all those interested in how criminology relates to democratic politics in modern times.
Five years ago Mackenzie Darroch was abducted and held captive in a derelict house. She thought she'd found her way out of the darkness. She was wrong... When Mackenzie witnesses a car crash and saves the driver's life, it sets in motion a chain of events that will alter both their futures. The two women get involved in a high-profile police case which draws the attention of a ruthless reporter. Gina Calvi is convinced Mackenzie is not who she appears and is prepared to do anything to prove it. Meanwhile, across the city, Kirsty McBride, a young single mother, is persuaded to leave a violent relationship. Her partner, Malkie Boyle a Glasgow hardman, is due to be released from prison. Once back on the street and bent on revenge, Boyle is determined to find the people responsible for stealing his family from him. Can Mackenzie save them or will Boyle get his revenge?Owen Mullen is a best-selling author of psychological and gangland thrillers. His fast-paced, twist-aplenty stories are perfect for all fans of Robert Galbraith, Ian Rankin and Ann Cleeves. What readers say about Owen Mullen: 'Owen Mullen knows how to ramp up the action just when it's needed... he never fails to give you hard-hitting thrillers that have moments that will stay with you forever...' 'One of the very best thriller writers I have ever read.' 'Owen Mullen writes a good story, he really brings his characters to life and the endings are hard to guess and never what you expected.'
When Private Investigator Charlie Cameron agrees to take on a cold case, he is drawn back into Glasgow's dark underworld...Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron knows Kim Rafferty is bad news the moment they meet. Desperate people always spell trouble in his experience, and Mrs Rafferty is as desperate as they come. What she is asking for is insane and if he agrees to help the wife of the notorious East-End gangster, the consequences for them both could be fatal. Twenty-four hours later, another betrayed woman with a hopeless case is pleading for Charlie's help. The PI is her only chance to keep an innocent man from serving a prison sentence for murders he didn't commit. Dennis Boyd is on the run, and as Charlie fights against the clock to keep him out of jail, he crosses a line that puts him on the wrong side of the law and pits him against his old friend and ally, DS Andrew Geddes. As the body count grows, and the defence for his client falls apart bit by bit, Charlie refuses to accept the inevitable. But everyone has their limits - even the infamous Charlie Cameron. Will he be forced to admit that this case may be the one to beat him... Owen Mullen is the author of many best-selling, page-turning thrillers including his popular Charlie Cameron series. His fast-paced, twist-aplenty stories are perfect for all fans of Robert Galbraith, Ian Rankin and Ann Cleeves. What readers say about Owen Mullen: 'Owen Mullen knows how to ramp up the action just when it's needed... he never fails to give you hard-hitting thrillers that have moments that will stay with you forever...' 'One of the very best thriller writers I have ever read.' 'Owen Mullen writes a good story, he really brings his characters to life and the endings are hard to guess and never what you expected.' |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Youth Violence - Prevention…
Daniel J. Flannery, C.Ronald Huff
Hardcover
|