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.

Criminal Law: A Comparative Approach presents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the substantive criminal law of two major jurisdictions: the United States and Germany. Presupposing no familiarity with either U.S. or German criminal law, the book will provide criminal law scholars and students with a rich comparative understanding of criminal law's foundations and central doctrines. All foreign-language sources have been translated into English; cases and materials are accompanied by heavily cross-referenced introductions and notes that place them within the framework of each country's criminal law system and highlight issues ripe for comparative analysis. Divided into three parts, the book covers foundational issues - such as constitutional limits on the criminal law - before tackling the major features of the general part of the criminal law and a selection of offences in the special part. Throughout, readers are exposed to alternative approaches to familiar problems in criminal law, and as a result will have a chance to see a given country's criminal law doctrine, on specific issues and in general, from the critical distance of comparative analysis.

This new textbook will provide students of criminology with a better understanding of criminal justice policy and, in doing so, offers a framework for analysing the social, economic and political processes that shape its creation. The book adopts a policy-oriented approach to criminal justice, connecting the study of criminology to the wider study of British government, public administration and politics. Throughout the book the focus is on key debates and competing perspectives on how policy decisions are made. Recognising that contemporary criminal justice policymakers operate in a highly politicised, public arena under the gaze of an ever-increasing variety of groups, organisations and individuals who have a stake in a particular policy issue, the book explores how and why these people seek to influence policymaking. It also recognises that criminal policy differs from other areas of public policy, as policy decisions affect the liberty and freedoms of citizens. Throughout, key ideas and debates are linked to wider sociology, criminology and social policy theory. Key features include: a foreword by Tim Newburn, leading criminologist and author of Criminology (2nd Edition, 2013), a critical and informed analysis of the concepts, ideas and institutional practices that shape criminal justice policy making, an exploration of the relationship between criminal justice and wider social policy, a critical analysis of the debate about how and why behaviour becomes defined as requiring a criminal justice solution, a range of case studies, tasks, seminar questions and suggested further readings to keep the student engaged. This text is perfect for students taking modules in criminology; criminal justice; and social and public policy, as well as those taking courses on criminal and administrative law.

Cherif Bassiouni is often referred to as "the father of international criminal law." Every major international criminal law instrument developed in the last forty years, from the Torture Convention to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, bears his hallmark. His writings, diplomatic initiatives, fieldwork, and even litigation have made an unparalleled contribution to the emergence of international criminal law as a distinct discipline within the field of international law. This book contains a collection of fifteen scholarly essays, written by leading experts from around the world, about the theory and practice of modern international criminal law, with a focus on Cherif Bassiouni's unique legacy within this important area. Among the contributing authors are Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mahnoush Arsanjani, Chief of the UN Office of Legal Affairs Codification Division; Diane Orentlicher, UN Independent Expert on Combating Impunity; Michael Reisman, former President of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights; Yves Sandoz, Director for International Law of the International Committee of the Red Cross; William Schabas, Member of the Sierra Leone Truth Commission; Brigitte Stern, Advocate for the Bosnians in the World Court's Genocide case; and Prince Hassan bin Talal, first President of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court.

This popular title combines breadth of coverage with readability and sets out the principal points of criminal law in a systematic and thorough way. This edition includes the most recent legislative and case law developments.

World Criminal Justice Systems, Ninth Edition, provides an understanding of major world criminal justice systems by discussing and comparing the systems of six of the world’s countries -- each representative of a different type of legal system. An additional chapter on Islamic law uses three examples to illustrate the range of practice within Sharia. Political, historical, organizational, procedural, and critical issues confronting the justice systems are explained and analyzed. Each chapter contains material on government, police, judiciary, law, corrections, juvenile justice, and other critical issues. The ninth edition features an introduction directing students to the resources they need to understand comparative criminal justice theory and methodology. The chapter on Russia includes consideration of the turmoil in post-Soviet successor states, and the final chapter on Islamic law examines the current status of criminal justice systems in the Middle East.

The Realities of the International Criminal Justice System takes an analytical and critical look at the impact of the major instruments of international criminal justice since the 1990s with the advent of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia.

Written by some of the most notable criminologists of South Asia, this book examines advances in law, criminal justice, and criminology in South Asia with particular reference to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The edited collection explores, on the basis of surveys, interviews, court records, and legislative documents, a wide range of timely issues such as: the impacts of modernization and globalization on laws combating violence against women and children, evolution of rape laws and the issues of gender justice, laws for combating online child sexual abuse, transformation in juvenile justice, integration of women into policing, the dynamics of violence and civility, and the birth of colonial criminology in South Asia. Students of criminology and criminal justice, practitioners, policy-makers, and human rights advocates will find this distinctive volume highly valuable.