Every Ted Bundy/Charles Manson, Littleton, Rwanda/Kosovo inspires a renewed, desperate search for explanations & solutions. Hundreds of books wrestle w/ aspects of the problem: drugs, poverty, television, child abuse. Only a handful tackles violence on a broader scale. Called "a major contribution to violence theory" by the OMNI Center for Peace; a brilliant synthesis of all available models;" & the most comprehensive model of violence enabling yet to be developed;" by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author of the Pulitzer-nominated On Killing, Transcending Violence stands out in offering both explanations & pragmatic solutions Violence comes in many shapes & sizes. It grows in almost any soil. Ethnic warfare & school shootings, crimes of passion & murder-for-hire seem to have little in common. One specialist blames overblown self-esteem while another points to deep-rooted shame. Criminologists, sociologists, police, peace activists, military historians & forensic psychologists bring contrasting perspectives to the table. Each explanation carries a large grain of truth, but when applied across the board quickly falls apart. One error has been an obsession with finding only one factor that can carry the entire blame. Competing theories often throw light on specific incidents but not on others These various perspectives become considerably more valuable when interwoven. Specifically, their shared characteristics & concerns can be sorted into up to 5 steps & 10 primary reinforcers. Variations on these 5 steps produce individually tailored paths to violence. That tapestry is laid out in the first half of Transcending Violence. In part two, Transcending Violence takes this confluence model & turns it on its head. By identifying specific steps and reinforcers for violence, we become empowered to invert them. We can disassemble the steps & eliminate the reinforcers. These actions apply at all levels, from the individual to the global.

Introduction to Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition, offers a student-friendly description of the criminal justice process—outlining the decisions, practices, people, and issues involved. It provides a solid introduction to the mechanisms of the criminal justice system, with balanced coverage of the issues presented by each facet of the process, including a thorough review of practices and controversies in law enforcement, the criminal courts, and corrections. In this revision, Edwards gives fresh sources of data, with over 600 citations of new research results. New sections include immigration policy, disparities in the justice system, Compstat and problem-oriented policing, victim services in the courts, and developments in drug policy. This edition also has expanded coverage of police use of force. Each chapter now includes a text box on a policy dilemma like cash bail or stop-and-frisk policies. Appropriate for all U.S. Criminal Justice programs, this text offers great value for students and instructors.