The Study of Violent Crime: Its Correlates and Concerns

by Mire; Scott

• ISBN13: 9781439807477
• ISBN10: 1439807477
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-14
• Publisher: CRC Press

Summary

Violence is a complex subject that is rooted in a multitude of disciplines, including not only criminology but also psychology, sociology, biology, and other social science disciplines. It is only through understanding violence as a concept that we can hope to respond to it appropriately and to prevent it. The Study of Violent Crime: Its Correlates and Concerns is a comprehensive text that provides a current analysis of violence and violent crime in the United States.Topics discussed include:The history of violence in Europe and America Whether violent behavior can be predicted Possible correlates of violence, including values, poverty, low education, abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse, and shame Sociological theories surrounding crime causation, including social control, conflict and strain, and anomie Psychological approaches to understanding violence from Freud, Bentham, Skinner, and others Biological theories and the influence of positivism and determinism The role of early exposure to violence on future behavior and programs to counteract these effects Gang activity and hate crimes The history of punishment and its effectiveness Victimology and victimizationOrganized in logical fashion, each chapter builds on previous ones and makes use of concrete examples to clarify concepts. Action boxes help readers focus on salient points and review questions appear at the end of each chapter, enabling readers to test their assimilation of the material. An accompanying website enhances the learning experience with updates on issues, study guides, and links to related websites.

Table of Contents

Preface: Is Violence as American as Apple Pie?	p. xiii
Authors	p. xv
Introduction to the Study of Violence	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Denning Violence	p. 6
Types of Violence	p. 8
Interpersonal Violence	p. 8
Other Types of Violence	p. 9
Methods of Violence	p. 11
Violence Prevention Initiative	p. 11
Physical Violence	p. 12
Sexual Violence	p. 13
Psychological Violence	p. 13
Emotional Violence	p. 14
Cost of Violence	p. 14
Direct Costs	p. 16
Indirect Costs	p. 17
Violence-Related Injury in America	p. 17
Costs of Violence-Related Injury in America	p. 18
Result of Violence-Related Injury	p. 19
Conclusion	p. 19
Review Questions	p. 20
References	p. 20
Trends in Violence	p. 23
Introduction	p. 23
Fact versus Myth	p. 24
Reliability of the Data	p. 24
Historical Trends in Europe	p. 26
Variation in the Declining Rate of Violence	p. 26
Summarizing Historical Trends in Europe	p. 28
Historical Trends in America	p. 28
Violent Crime in America after 1900	p. 32
Theoretical Postulations Concerning Changing Rates of Violence	p. 34
Predicting Violence	p. 38
Can We Predict Which Individuals Will Be Involved in Violent Behavior?	p. 38
How Should We Use Predictions of Future Violence?	p. 39
Excerpts from the U.S. Supreme Court Case O'Connor v. Donaldson	p. 39
Jackson v. Indiana	p. 40
Conclusion	p. 41
Review Questions	p. 41
References	p. 42
Correlates of Violence	p. 45
Introduction	p. 45
Values and Violence	p. 45
Poverty and Violence	p. 48
Alcohol Abuse and Violence	p. 50
Abuse and Neglect Effect on Violence	p. 51
Education and Violence	p. 53
Conclusion	p. 54
Review Questions	p. 55
References	p. 55
Sociological Aspects of Violence	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Social Controls	p. 58
Emile Durkheim	p. 59
Division of Labor in Society	p. 59
Anomie	p. 60
Strain Theory and Violence	p. 61
Robert Merton	p. 62
Middle-Class Measuring Rod	p. 62
Opportunity Structure	p. 63
Control Theories and Violence	p. 64
Albert Reiss	p. 64
Collective Violence in America	p. 65
Containment	p. 66
Social Control	p. 67
Delinquency and Drift	p. 68
Cultural Conflict	p. 68
Subculture of Violence	p. 69
Differential Association	p. 69
Review Questions	p. 70
References	p. 71
Psychological/Psychiatric Approaches to Understanding Violence	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Nature of Violent Behavior	p. 74
Cesare Beccaria	p. 74
Capital Punishment	p. 76
Utilitarianism	p. 76
Psychiatric Explanations of Violence	p. 77
Psychoanalytic Approaches	p. 78
Sigmund Freud	p. 78
Juvenile Delinquency	p. 79
Violent Crime Causation	p. 80
Emotional Problem Theories	p. 80
Mental Disorders	p. 81
Sociopathic Personality Theories	p. 82
Future Dangerousness	p. 83
Baxstrom v. Herold	p. 83
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	p. 84
Behavior and Social Learning Theories	p. 84
Thinking Pattern Theories	p. 85
Cognitive Development Theories	p. 85
The Criminal Personality	p. 86
Substance Abuse as a Cause of Violence	p. 87
Intergenerational Transmission of Violence	p. 88
Review Questions	p. 89
References	p. 89
Biological Factors and Violence	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
Positivist Approach to Violence	p. 92
Auguste Comte	p. 92
Cesare Lomhroso	p. 94
Gabriel Tarde	p. 96
Raffaele Garofalo	p. 96
Enrico Ferri	p. 97
Determinism	p. 98
Importance of Positivism	p. 99
Biological Approaches to Violence Causation	p. 99
Heredity and Violence	p. 99
Inferiority Theories	p. 100
Body-Type Theories	p. 102
Difference and Defectiveness Theories	p. 103
Premenstrual Syndrome/Premenstrual Tension	p. 104
Chromosomal Abnormality	p. 105
Central Nervous System	p. 105
Nutrition and Criminal Behavior	p. 105
Problems with Biological Explanations	p. 105
Summary	p. 106
Review Questions	p. 106
References	p. 107
Exposure to Violence	p. 109
Introduction	p. 109
Juveniles as Victims or Criminals	p. 110
Substance Abuse	p. Ill
Community Violence	p. 112
School Violence	p. 112
Domestic Violence	p. 112
Media Violence	p. 113
Violent Music Lyrics	p. 115
Combating Violence in the Media	p. 115
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention Project	p. 115
Gang Resistance Education and Training Program	p. 116
Safe Start Centers	p. 116
Teen Action Partnership	p. 118
Child Sexual Abuse	p. 119
Extremely Violent Video Games	p. 120
From Attorney General Brown's Appellant Brief	p. 120
Counterstatement of Facts Filed by Video Software Dealers	p. 127
Review Questions	p. 133
References	p. 133
Violent Crimes	p. 135
Introduction	p. 135
Murder	p. 135
Murder Defined	p. 136
Degrees of Murder	p. 137
Voluntary Manslaughter	p. 138
Defined	p. 138
Involuntary Manslaughter	p. 139
Negligent Manslaughter	p. 141
Robbery	p. 141
Typology of Robbers	p. 142
Robbery Defined	p. 143
Sex Offenses	p. 145
Rape	p. 146
Sodomy	p. 150
Assaultive Crimes	p. 151
Battery	p. 151
Assault	p. 152
Summary	p. 153
Definitions of Typical Violence Offenses	p. 153
Review Questions	p. 154
References	p. 154
Gangs and Violence	p. 155
Introduction	p. 155
Acts of Violence by Gangs	p. 157
Victims of Gang Violence	p. 157
Regional Trends in Gangs	p. 157
Northeast	p. 158
South	p. 158
Midwest	p. 158
West	p. 158
Characteristics of Gangs	p. 159
Prison Gangs	p. 161
Female Gangs	p. 162
Review Questions	p. 163
References	p. 164
Hate Crimes	p. 165
Introduction	p. 165
History of the Hate Crime Acts	p. 165
Hate Crimes Defined	p. 166
FBI Guidelines	p. 166
Examples of Hate Crimes	p. 166
State Hate Crime Laws	p. 167
Issues in Collecting Data on Hate Crimes	p. 167
Trends in Hate Crimes	p. 168
Hate Crime Changes in California from 2007	p. 168
National Hate Crime Statistics	p. 168
Single-Bias Incidents	p. 168
Offenses by Bias Motivation within Incidents	p. 169
Racial Bias	p. 169
Religious Bias	p. 169
Sexual-Orientation Bias	p. 170
Ethnicity/National Origin Bias	p. 170
Disability Bias	p. 170
Legal Aspects of Hate Crimes	p. 172
Identifying Hate Crimes	p. 173
Typology of Offenders	p. 175
Review Questions	p. 177
References	p. 177
Shame and Violence	p. 179
Introduction	p. 179
What Is Shame?	p. 179
What Are the Origins of Shame?	p. 180
Why Shame Is So Powerful	p. 181
How Shame Is Directly Related to Violence	p. 182
Shame and Empathy	p. 182
How Shame Is Related to the Correlates in Chapter 3	p. 184
Conclusion	p. 186
Review Questions	p. 186
References	p. 187
Controlling Violence by the Use of Punishment	p. 189
Introduction	p. 189
Beginning of Legal Punishments	p. 189
Punishment of Socrates	p. 191
Middle Ages	p. 191
The Holy Inquisition	p. 192
Purpose of Criminal Sanctions	p. 192
Justification of Punishment	p. 193
Retribution	p. 194
Deterrence	p. 194
Incapacitation	p. 195
Rehabilitation	p. 196
Purposes of Punishment	p. 196
English Statement of Purposes	p. 196
Guiding Principles	p. 197
Social Purposes of Punishment	p. 197
Review Questions	p. 198
References	p. 198
Victimology and Violence	p. 199
Introduction	p. 199
Code of Hammurabi	p. 200
Other Early Codes and Laws	p. 201
Victimization	p. 202
Mendelsohn's Theory of Victimization	p. 202
Von Hentig's Theory of Victimization	p. 203
The General Classes of Victims	p. 203
Psychological Types of Victims	p. 204
The Activating Sufferers	p. 204
Review Questions	p. 204
References	p. 205
Appendix: Bibliography of Youth Violence Studies	p. 207
Index	p. 215
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