Crime and Criminals Contemporary and Classic Readings

by Scarpitti, Frank R.; Nielsen, Amie L.

• ISBN13: 9780195329827
• ISBN10: 0195329821
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Scarpitti and Nielsen's comprehensive anthology offers a collection of student-accessible, highly readable reprinted articles intended to introduce core issues in understanding crime. Unlike many criminology readers, this book covers not only theories of crime--but includes articles with an emphasis on types of criminals and defining crime. Also featured are conceptualizations, extensions, and applications of contemporary works designed to ease instruction in the classroom. The reader is divided into six sections: Defining Crime, The Extent of Crime, Correlates of Crime, Explaining Crime, Types of Crime, and Responses to Crime. Each section begins with a thought-provoking introduction by the editors that provides a general overview and frames each selection in a larger context, which helps the reader understand the relevance of the selections that follow. These introductions also identify and explain central issues, key concepts, and relationships among topics. Each selection opens with a short introduction and concludes with discussion questions.

Table of Contents

Defining Crime

Characteristics of the Criminal Law

The State, the Law, and the Definition of Behavior as Criminal or Delinquent

A Crime by Any Other Name

The Rise of the Child Saving Movement: A Study in Social Policy and Correctional Reform

The Victim's Rights Movement

Extent And Nature of Crime

Are Uniform Crime Reports a Valid Indicator of the Index Crimes? An Affirmative Answer With Minor Qualifications

Reassessing the Reliability and Validity of Self Report Delinquency Measures

Managing Rape: Exploratory Research on the Behavior of Rape Statistics

Racial Politics, Racial Disparities, and the War on Crime

Correlates of Crime

Specifying the SES/Delinquency Relationship

Explaining the Black Homicide Rate

Trends in Women's Crime, Meda Chesney-Lind

Age and the Distribution of Crime

Family Relationships, Juvenile Delinquency, and Adult Criminality

Theories of Crime

Biological Perspectives in Criminology

Adolescence Limited and Life Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Taxonomy

A Control Theory of Delinquency

Crime and Deviance Over the Life Course: The Salience of Adult Social Bonds

Sociological Theory of Criminal Behavior

The Influence of Delinquent Peers: What They Think or What They Do?

Foundation for a General Strain Theory of Crime and Delinquency

General Strain Theory and Delinquency: A Replication and Extension

Formal Characteristics of Delinquency Areas

Economic Deprivation and Neighborhood Crime Rates, 1960-1980

Types of Crime

Violent Crime in the United States

The Cycle of Violence

The Motivation to Commit Property Crimes

Economic Motivators for Shoplifting

Public Order Crime

Homeboys, Dope Fiends, Legits, and New Jacks

The Nature and Historical Roots of Professional Crime

The Stooper: A Professional Thief in the Sutherland Manner

Organized Crime

Casinos and Banking: Organized Crime in the Bahamas

White Collar Crime

The State and White Collar Crime

Responses to Crime

Police

The Decision to Prosecute

The Evidence in Favor of Prisons

Prisons

Decriminalization

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