Presents the field accurately and completely in a way that is understandable to undergraduates. Includes a rich collection of carefully edited classic and contemporary articles. Contains framing essays written by the Editors.

Résumé. - Soderžanie.

Conducting research into crime and criminal justice carries unique challenges. This Handbook focuses on the application of ′methods′ to address the core substantive questions that currently motivate contemporary criminological research. It maps a canon of methods that are more elaborated than in most other fields of social science, and the intellectual terrain of research problems with which criminologists are routinely confronted. Drawing on exemplary studies, chapters in each section illustrate the techniques (qualitative and quantitative) that are commonly applied in empirical studies, as well as the logic of criminological enquiry. Organized into five sections, each prefaced by an editorial introduction, the Handbook covers: • Crime and Criminals • Contextualizing Crimes in Space and Time: Networks, Communities and Culture • Perceptual Dimensions of Crime • Criminal Justice Systems: Organizations and Institutions • Preventing Crime and Improving Justice Edited by leaders in the field of criminological research, and with contributions from internationally renowned experts, The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Research Methods is set to become the definitive resource for postgraduates, researchers and academics in criminology, criminal justice, policing, law, and sociology. David Gadd is Professor of Criminology at Manchester University School of Law where he is also Director of the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice. Susanne Karstedt has a Chair in Criminology and Criminological Justice at the University of Leeds. Steven F. Messner is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York.

This manual contains the standards for reform in the management and operation of the criminal justice system, focusing on planning, education, and information systems. Planning for resource allocation is one of the most important functions that a criminal justice agency performs. The 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act required the creation of state criminal justice planning agencies and the development of annual state comprehensive plans as a contingency for state participation in federal criminal justice funding. In the initial section of this volume, the National Advisory Commission points out the need for additional planning at the metropolitan and regional levels, and indicates the necessity for quantifying performance objectives. It also stresses participation in the planning process by criminal justice agencies, government departments and private citizens. The Commission recommends the development of state integrated multiyear planning and the establishment of criminal justice coordinating councils by all major cities and counties. Other areas of concern to the Commission, in addition to management and budget planning, include systems analysis, information systems, evaluation, personnel training, and criminal code revision. These and other commission proposals appear in the form of specific standards and recommendations -- nearly 70 in all -- that spell out in detail what the segments of the criminal justice system-the police, courts, and correctional agencies can do to upgrade and modernize many of their functions. This manual is a reference work for the practitioner as well as the interested layman.