The social construction of crime is often out of proportion to the threat posed. The media and advocacy groups shine a spotlight on some crimes and ignore others. Street crime is highlighted as putting everyone at risk of victimization, while the greater social harms from corporate malfeasance receive far less attention. Social arrangements dictate what is defined as crime and the punishments for those who engage in the proscribed behavior. Interest groups promote their agendas by appealing to public fears. Justifications often have no basis in fact, but the public accepts the exaggerations and blames the targeted offenders. The net-widening effect of more laws and more punishment catches those least able to defend themselves. This innovative alternative to traditional textbooks provides insightful observations of myths and trends in criminal justice. Fourteen chapters challenge misconceptions about specific crimes or aspects of the criminal justice system. Kappeler and Potter dissect popular images of crimes and criminals in a cogent, compelling, and engaging manner. They trace the social construction of each issue and identify the misleading statistics and fears that form the basis of myths—and the collateral damage of basing policies on mythical beliefs. The authors encourage skepticism about commonly accepted beliefs, offer readers a fresh perspective, and urge them to analyze important issues from novel vantage points.

An insightful look at the realities of crime & justice that challenges basic assumptions & misconceptions about specific crimes or parts of the criminal justice system.

Introduction to Criminology, Why Do They Do It?, Second Edition, by Pamela J. Schram Stephen G. Tibbetts, offers a contemporary and integrated discussion of the key theories that help us understand crime in the 21st century. With a focus on why offenders commit crimes, this bestseller skillfully engages students with real-world cases and examples to help students explore the fundamentals of criminology. To better align with how instructors actually teach this course, coverage of violent and property crimes has been integrated into the theory chapters, so students can clearly understand the application of theory to criminal behavior. Unlike other introductory criminology textbooks, the Second Edition discusses issues of diversity in each chapter and covers many contemporary topics that are not well represented in other texts, such as feminist criminology, cybercrime, hate crimes, white-collar crime, homeland security, and identity theft. Transnational comparisons regarding crime rates and the methods other countries use to deal with crime make this edition the most universal to date and a perfect companion for those wanting to learn about criminology in context.

In this concise and valuable collection of essays, Louis J. Gesualdi provides readers with an understanding of peacemaking criminology. Peacemaking criminology is a humane, nonviolent, and scientific approach in its treatment of crime and the offender. It looks at crime as just one of the many types of suffering that exemplify human life. Efforts to put a stop to such suffering—according to peacemaking criminologists—should take into account a main rebuilding of America’s social institutions, such as the economic system, the criminal justice system, and the health care system so that they no longer create suffering. The United States as a society pays no notice to prevention, but rather adheres to the belief of imprisonment and punishment. The twelve essays in this book focus on how peacemaking criminology aids in the prevention of crime, the rehabilitation of offenders, and involves the core principles of social justice and human rights.

Today’s headlines vividly illustrate the importance of understanding aspects of the criminal justice system too often ignored. While the second edition of Crime and Criminal Justice in American Society includes the most recent statistics on the police, courts, and corrections, its provocative, current examples also spur critical thinking about justice in the United States. The authors offer an alternative interpretation of criminal justice rarely presented in traditional textbooks or by the media. They encourage readers to examine their beliefs about crime, punishment, and the law. Discussions in the chapters about how African Americans, Hispanics, whites, women, juveniles, the rich, and the poor experience crime and the criminal justice system contribute context for understanding different viewpoints. The poor and minorities are the most likely to be caught in the net of criminal justice—but inequities have consequences for everyone. Reflection on various perspectives provides helpful input for assessing attitudes and for becoming actively involved with issues that have significant consequences. Eighteen thoroughly revised chapters present historical backgrounds, theories, and emerging issues. New to the second edition is a chapter on veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Affordable, succinct, and engaging, this textbook presents the key concepts of the criminal justice system at less than half the cost of many competing textbooks.

A peacemaking approach to criminology is a humane, nonviolent, and scientific approach to the treatment of crime and the offender. It looks at crime as just one of the many types of suffering that exemplify human life. According to peacemaking criminologists, efforts to put a stop to such suffering need to take into account a main rebuilding of America’s social institutions—such as the economic system and the criminal justice system—so that they no longer create suffering. In short, the U.S. as a society pays no notice to prevention but rather embraces the tenets of imprisonment and punishment. A peacemaking approach to criminology deals with prevention of crime and rehabilitation of offenders and involves principles of social justice and human rights. This collection of twenty-two essays provides a comprehensive introduction to a peacemaking approach to criminology.

This edited volume contains 22 papers organized into three sections under the following headings: part I is entitled On Promoting Victim Policies; Part II On Reforming Criminal Justice; and Part III On Restorative Justice. All three areas are ones to which Tony Peters, former Professor of Criminology in Leuven, has made a significant contribution and for which he is known as an international authority. During his long and productive academic career Tony Peters led many struggles for criminal justice reform. He was a leading figure in the movement to recognize crime victims' plight and to reaffirm their rights. In Belgium, he spearheaded the early initiatives in restorative justice and became one of its outspoken proponents nationally and internationally. There is no doubt that these three major topics and the various developments and reforms that are addressed in the papers will dominate the thinking about, and the practice of, criminal justice in the years to come. Thus, in addition to paying homage to a congenial friend and an illustrious colleague, it is hoped that this book will appeal and prove useful to all those who have an interest in victims issues, in criminal justice reform, and last but not least, in the promising paradigm of restorative justice.

An Introduction to Crime & Criminology 4e, continues to bring together some of Australia’s most widely respected authorities on criminology. The text explores popular knowledge and understanding about crime, contrasting it with what we know about crime from official sources as well as from crime victims. The authors present and analyse the various ways that crime is defined and measured, the many and varied dimensions of crime, the broad range of theories offered to explain crime as well as some of the main ways governments and other agencies respond to and attempt to prevent crime.

Controlling threats to national security has long been the mission of the U.S. military, while civilian law enforcement has dealt with domestic problems of crime, illegal drugs, and internal disorder. This groundbreaking collection argues persuasively that the conventional distinctions between these two forces are becoming blurred and considers the far-reaching consequences of the disquieting trend to militarize the nation's criminal justice system. The contributors examine the historical and current interrelationships between the military and police, illuminating such areas as the ideological similarities between waging real wars and fighting the wars on drugs and crime, the reshaping of the military's role after the end of the Cold War, the rapidly growing influence of advanced military technology in civilian society, and the adaptation of military models such as boot camps and SWAT teams in policing and corrections. As the lines between the military industrial complex and the criminal justice enterprise become ever more clouded, this work provides a much-needed evaluation of the thorny issues, dangers, and public policy ramifications raised by the entanglement between militari

Today's criminal justice system is the product of adjustments and reappraisals of policies and practices of the past. The Past Present, and Future of American Criminal Justice highlights how criminal justice has changed and how it continues to change.