This book of original essays presents students with challenging looks at some of the most basic, and sometimes most difficult, decisions faced by criminal justice researchers. Each chapter presents an overview of a foundational question/issue in the conduct of research, and discussions of the options to resolve these controversies.

This concise, up-to-date text provides student-friendly examples of all theoretical approaches that emphasize the complex relationships between 21st century social structures, cultures, and crime. Criminological Theory: A Brief Introduction, 4e provides students and instructors with a concise, up-to-date, and thorough discussion and explication of major criminological schools of thought. The text focuses on providing students with understandings of not only what the central tenets are of criminological theories but also focuses on providing real-life examples and implications for criminal justice policy and practice. The various theories examined across the chapters are illustrated through examples drawing upon contemporary cultural developments of particular interest to college age students that increase interest and engagement. Teaching and Learning Experience This book offers an accessible discussion of the major theories of crime, delinquency, social deviance and social control with an objective and neutral approach.It provides: * Expanded coverage of theory development, assessment, and integration: Provides thorough yet concise coverage * Theories grouped by type and subtype: Gives students an appreciation of the historical development of theoretical criminology and the significance of classical statements to contemporary perspectives * Strong pedagogical support: Reinforces chapter information to ensure mastery

This book of original essays presents students with challenging looks at some of the most basic, and sometimes most difficult, decisions faced by criminal justice researchers. Each chapter presents an overview of a foundational question/issue in the conduct of research, and discussions of the options to resolve these controversies.
Whether you plan to be a researcher or a consumer of research, you need to understand the decisions researchers must make and the underlying issues. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter help spark thought, review and debate.

Domestic drug enforcement takes many forms, from the rural patrol officer who happens upon a small-scale mobile "shake and bake" methamphetamine lab during a routine traffic stop, to the city narcotics detective who initiates a low-level buy-bust operation that nets a few hits of crack cocaine on the street corner, to the local, state, and federal agents working in multiagency task forces that coordinate a sting operation that nets thousands of kilos of near-pure cocaine being transported by tractor-trailer. Regardless of the form, there is a high probability that these authorities have exploited access to known offenders and exerted pressure on those individuals to gather inside information on illicit drug sales. These confidential informants provide intelligence on the inner workings of drug operations in exchange for leniency or remuneration, providing a relatively cheap source of intelligence that fuels much of the ongoing war on drugs. In other instances, law enforcement authorities will reach out to members of the criminal underworld who are willing to provide valuable intelligence in exchange for money. Despite the central role of informants in contemporary police operations, little is known about the shadowy relationships among law enforcement, snitches, and offenders. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the narcotics, homicide, and street-level vice operations in two major metropolitan police departments, Speaking Truth to Power takes readers to the front lines of the war on drugs to unravel this complex web of information exchange.

Gangs have long been a social and criminal threat to society. Introduction to Gangs in America explains how gangs are addressed as a criminal justice and public policy problem, providing a student-friendly, easily accessible, concise overview of the role, place, structure, and activities of gangs in American society. The book describes what gangs are, what differentiates them from each other, how they share similarities, and how they fit into contemporary American culture.

The authors explore the history and structure of gangs, reveal their clandestine activities, and analyze their social impact. The book also includes information on gender issues in gangs, and provides insight into how gangs impact American educational institutions

Offering an insider's account, the book provides in-depth profiles of specific gangs, including:

• Europe's five major biker gangs
• The Outlaws
• The Hell's Angels
• The Bandidos
• The Pagans
• Bloods
• Aryan Brotherhood
• Black Guerrilla Family
• Mexican Mafia
• Texas Syndicate
• Neta

Discussion questions appear at the end of each chapter, stimulating debate and classroom discussion.

It may never be possible to eradicate gangs from our culture. But by understanding their structure, their strengths and vulnerabilities, and how they operate, law enforcement can better protect the public from their nefarious activities. This text gives future law enforcement professionals rare insider insight into a subject typically shrouded in secrecy.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the US Department of Justice. The NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to reduce crime and promote justice, particularly at the state and local levels. Each year, the NIJ publishes and sponsors dozens of research and study documents detailing results, analyses and statistics that help to further the organization's mission. These documents relate to topics like biometrics, corrections technology, gun violence, digital forensics, human trafficking, electronic crime, terrorism, tribal justice and more. This document is one of these publications.

This unique collection of highly readable articles offers a fresh, alternative approach to teaching deviance. Articles were chosen that will pique student interest and stimulate lively class discussion by challenging preconceived notions of deviance and people labeled as "deviant." Benefits of Deviance and Deviants: An Anthology to students and instructors are as follows: * This is not a "typical" deviance anthology. It does not include the classic selections usually found in most readers. Rather, it features less widely known empirical pieces selected on the basis of their compelling descriptions of deviant behavior--both from top journals and from sources outside the mainstream. * The book is organized around themes of behavior rather than theoretical perspectives or concepts. The articles examine drugs, sex, medicine, relationships, sports, work, and deviant subcultures--providing students with a basis for grasping central sociological ideas. * Coverage includes such topics as rape, transgender behavior, and child abuse--as well as a variety of types of deviance that touch closer to home for many students: sports deviance, student drinking, mistreatment of the elderly, stuttering, cheating among college students, and faculty malfeasance. * Brief, thought-provoking introductions are provided for each article, framing the piece in a larger context in terms of conceptual and theoretical issues. These introductions also explain central issues, key concepts, and relationships among topics covered.

Domestic drug enforcement takes many forms, from the rural patrol officer who happens upon a small-scale mobile "shake and bake" methamphetamine lab during a routine traffic stop, to the city narcotics detective who initiates a low-level buy-bust operation that nets a few hits of crack cocaine on the street corner, to the local, state, and federal agents working in multiagency task forces that coordinate a sting operation that nets thousands of kilos of near-pure cocaine being transported by tractor-trailer. Regardless of the form, there is a high probability that these authorities have exploited access to known offenders and exerted pressure on those individuals to gather inside information on illicit drug sales. These confidential informants provide intelligence on the inner workings of drug operations in exchange for leniency or remuneration, providing a relatively cheap source of intelligence that fuels much of the ongoing war on drugs. In other instances, law enforcement authorities will reach out to members of the criminal underworld who are willing to provide valuable intelligence in exchange for money. Despite the central role of informants in contemporary police operations, little is known about the shadowy relationships among law enforcement, snitches, and offenders. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the narcotics, homicide, and street-level vice operations in two major metropolitan police departments, Speaking Truth to Power takes readers to the front lines of the war on drugs to unravel this complex web of information exchange.