Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention

by Bonnie S. Fisher

• ISBN13: 9781412960472
• ISBN10: 1412960479
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-02-02
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

Victimology and crime prevention are growing, interrelated areas cutting across several disciplines. Victimology examines victims of all sorts of criminal activity, from domestic abuse, to street violence, to victims in the workplace who lose jobs and pensions due to malfeasance by corporate executives. ItÆs a controversial subject in that it involves a balance between ensuring justice and privacy for victims while preserving the rights of defendants. It involves not only study of who becomes a victim and why but also their journey through the criminal justice system and beyond. Crime prevention is an important companion to victimology because it offers insight and techniques to prevent situations that lead to crime and attempts to offer ideas and means for mitigating or minimizing the potential for victimization. Crime prevention offers methods that address the problem of crime and victimization at many levels, from macro-level changes in physical design and societal structure, to more micro-level endeavors such as individuals taking precautions to protect themselves and their property.In many ways, the two fields have developed along parallel yet separate paths, and the literature on both has been scattered across disciplines as varied as sociology, law and criminology, public health and medicine, political science and public policy, economics, psychology and human services, and more. On the one hand, a large body of scholarship and general information is now easily accessible to those interested in a wide range of issues; on the other hand, the sheer volume of information and the diversity of where it is found make it difficult to keep updated on all the information that is available. The Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention provides a comprehensive reference work bringing together such dispersed knowledge as it outlines and discusses the status of victims within the criminal justice system and topics of deterring and preventing victimization in the first place and responding to victimsÆ needs.Two volumes containing approximately 375 signed entries provide users with the most authoritative and comprehensive reference resource available on victimology and crime prevention, both in terms of breadth and depth of coverage.In addition to standard entries, leading scholars in the field have contributed Anchor Essays that, in broad strokes, provide starting points for investigating the more salient victimology and crime prevention topics.While the work as a whole is organized in A-to-Z fashion, to ease navigation between and among related entries, a ReaderÆs Guide in the front matter groups entries thematically and each entry is followed by cross-references. Robust search features in the electronic version of the encyclopedia further aid users in quickly and efficiently finding the information they need.Suggestions for Further Reading at the end of each entry guide readers to sources for more detailed research and discussion.Appendices provide a wealth of information to supplement the individual entries and to lead the reader to still more sources of information. Materials on laws, legal issues, and agencies and organizations offer much that will be useful to any reader who wants to pursue topics further.A representative sampling of general topic areas covered includes interpersonal and domestic violence, child maltreatment, and elder abuse; street violence; hate crimes and terrorism; treatment of victims by the media, courts, police, and politicians; community response to crime victims; physical design for crime prevention; victims of nonviolent crimes; deterrence and prevention; helping and counseling crime victims; international and comparative perspectives, and more.Availability in print and electronic formats provides students with convenient, easy access, wherever they may be.