This book describes the people, processes, and technologies needed to extract actionable intelligence from the inside, and outside, of crime guns.

Those who profit from illegally arming violent criminals and perpetuating the cycle of violence, victimization, and suffering are a special breed of bad guy. Firearms Trafficking, A Guide for Criminal Investigators, helps criminal investigators set their sights on armed violent criminals and those who traffic the crime guns that fuel this violence. This comprehensive text that provides insight into all aspects of firearms trafficking and armed violent crime investigation and easily keeps the readers interest with real-life case examples demonstrating the successful application of all the techniques discussed. This book is intended for criminal justice students, colleges and universities, criminal investigators in the U.S. and abroad, law enforcement academies, law enforcement executives, researchers, strategic planners, and policy makers.

The staggering toll of gun violence—which claims 31,000 U.S. lives each year—is an urgent public health issue that demands an effective evidence-based policy response. The Johns Hopkins University convened more than 20 of the world’s leading experts on gun violence and policy to summarize relevant research and recommend policies that are both constitutional and have broad public support. Collected for the first time in one volume, this reliable, empirical research and legal analysis will help lawmakers, opinion leaders, and concerned citizens identify policy changes to address mass shootings, along with the less-publicized gun violence that takes an average of 80 lives every day. Selected recommendations include: • Background checks: Establish a universal background check system for all persons purchasing a firearm from any seller. • High-risk individuals: Expand the set of conditions that disqualify an individual from legally purchasing a firearm. • Mental health: Focus federal restrictions on gun purchases by persons with serious mental illness on the dangerousness of the individual.• Trafficking and dealer licensing: Appoint a permanent director to ATF and provide the agency with the authority to develop a range of sanctions for gun dealers who violate gun sales or other laws. • Personalized guns: Provide financial incentives to states to mandate childproof or personalized guns. • Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines: Ban the future sale of assault weapons and the future sale and possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines.• Research funds: Provide adequate federal funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and National Institute of Justice for research into the causes and solutions of gun violence. The book includes an analysis of the constitutionality of many recommended policies and data from a national public opinion poll that reflects support among the majority of Americans—including gun owners—for stronger gun policies.

"Policing Gun Violence makes the case that increasing the effectiveness of the police in gun-violence prevention is both possible and essential. It is essential because in many cities, gun violence is the most pressing crime problem, making cities less liveable and dragging down economic development. There is no good alternative to police authority for gaining control of criminal gangs and interrupting cycles of retaliation. Increasing police effectiveness is possible due to considerable advances in the understanding of what works (and what doesn't) in the strategic use of police resources. In particular, innovations such as focused deterrence, hot spots policing, procedural justice, and enhanced shooting investigations have been widely studied and offer real promise if implemented correctly. The challenges in this domain begin with the fact that low-income communities of color, which bear the brunt of gun violence, tend to be distrustful of the police. Residents of these communities often feel that they are overpoliced, due to heavy-handed tactics and all-too-common officer-involved shootings. But they also feel under-policed, as evidenced by slow response times, failure to intervene in tense situations, and low arrest rates for serious crime. A comprehensive strategy for policing gun violence requires a community focus and a commitment to reining in police misbehaviour. This book makes the case that, done correctly, policing gun violence is an urgent investment and a matter of social justice"--

Despite a shared focus on crime and its ‘extended family’, forensic scientists and criminologists tend to work in isolation rather than sharing the data, methods and knowledge that will broaden the understanding of the criminal phenomenon and its related subjects. Bringing together perspectives from international experts, this book explores the intersection between criminology and forensic science and considers how knowledge from both fields can contribute to a better understanding of crime and offer new directions in theory and methodology. This handbook is divided into three parts: Part I explores the epistemological and historical components of criminology and forensic science, focusing on their scientific and social origins. Part II considers how collaboration between these disciplines can bring about a better understanding of the organizations and institutions that react to crime, including the court, intelligence, prevention, crime scene investigation and policing. Part III discusses the phenomena and actors that produce crime, including a reflection on the methodological issues, challenges and rewards regarding the sharing of these two disciplines. The objective of this handbook is to stimulate a ‘new’ interdisciplinary take on the study of crime, to show how both forensic and criminological theories and knowledge can be combined to analyse crime problems and to open new methodological perspectives. It will be essential reading for students and researchers engaged with forensic science, criminology, criminal behaviour, criminal investigation, crime analysis and criminal justice.

The Handbook of Homicide presents a series of original essays by renowned authors from around the world, reflecting the latest scholarship on the nature, causes, and patterns of homicide, as well as policies and practices for its investigation and prevention. Includes comprehensive coverage of the complex phenomenon of homicide and its various forms Features original contributions from an esteemed team of global experts and scholars with chapters highlighting the authors’ original research Represents the first internationally-focused collection of the latest research on the nature and causes of homicide Covers both the causes and dynamics of homicide, as well as policies and practices intended to address it

"Experience the chilling history of crime first-hand through the newspapers of the day. Witches, pirates, outlaws, gangsters, serial killers and all other manner of criminals share the spotlight as crime, in all its infamy, is exposed."--