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A comprehensive core text with chapters written by twenty-three key researchers. Collaborating with these prominent researchers in each of the topics covered, Sheley provides readers with a current and comprehensive overview of the discipline. The authors provide timely, critical analyses of their areas of expertise, giving readers state-of-the-art coverage of standard criminology topics as well as information on topics often missing in other texts. The chapters also address many crime myths, enabling students to make informed decisions about crime and its potential effect on them.

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• Preface(p. xix)
• About the Authors(p. xxi)
• A Brief Introduction to Criminology(p. 1)
• The Study of Crime(p. 1)
• Sociological Interests(p. 1)
• Issues for Study(p. 2)
• Basic Concepts(p. 3)
• Substantive Law(p. 4)
• Age(p. 4)
• Self-Defense(p. 5)
• Insanity(p. 5)
• Procedural Law(p. 6)
• Contemporary Criminology(p. 7)
• Part 1 Structuring Views of Crime(p. 10)
• 1 Public Perceptions of and Reactions to Crime(p. 13)
• The Fear of Crime(p. 14)
• Who Is Afraid?(p. 14)
• Which Crimes Are Feared Most?(p. 15)
• Personal Versus Altruistic Fear(p. 18)
• The Consequences of Fear(p. 18)
• The Seriousness of Crimes(p. 19)
• Public Opinion on Punishment(p. 21)
• The Media and Crime(p. 23)
• "Newsworthiness" and News Distortion(p. 23)
• Distortion in Print and Broadcast Media(p. 25)
• Distortion in Television Programs(p. 26)
• The Effects of Distortion(p. 26)
• Crime, Controversy, and Politics(p. 27)
• Conclusion(p. 28)
• 2 Shaping Definitions of Crime(p. 33)
• The Consensus Approach: Deviance and Social Unity(p. 34)
• Criticisms of the Consensus Model(p. 36)
• The Conflict Approach(p. 37)
• Criminal Definitions as Relative(p. 38)
• Control of Institutions(p. 38)
• Law as an Instrument of Power(p. 39)
• Control of Law Enforcement(p. 40)
• The Elite Dominance Approach(p. 41)
• Class Conflict(p. 42)
• Law and the Capitalists(p. 42)
• Instrumentalists and Structuralists(p. 43)
• Pluralist Theories(p. 44)
• Multiple Interest Groups(p. 45)
• State Agents(p. 46)
• Ideological Interests(p. 47)
• Symbolism(p. 47)
• Influencing Legal Outcomes(p. 48)
• Criticisms of Pluralist Theories(p. 50)
• Conclusion(p. 50)
• Part 2 Dimensions of Criminal Activity(p. 56)
• 3 Crime Facts: Victim and Offender Data(p. 59)
• Uniform Crime Reports: Police Reports of Crime(p. 60)
• Coverage(p. 60)
• Generating UCR Crime Incidents(p. 62)
• National Crime Victimization Survey: Victim Reports(p. 64)
• Coverage(p. 65)
• Generating NCVS Crime Incidents(p. 67)
• Self-Report Surveys: Offender Reports(p. 69)
• Coverage(p. 70)
• Generating SR Crime Incidents(p. 71)
• UCR, NCVS, and SR Data: Convergence and Divergence(p. 73)
• Convergence of Absolute Rates(p. 73)
• Convergence of Relative Rates Across Geographic Areas(p. 75)
• Convergence of Demographic Characteristics of Offenders(p. 77)
• Convergence of Time Trends(p. 79)
• Conclusion(p. 80)
• 4 Looking for Patterns: Gender, Age, and Crime(p. 85)
• Gender and Crime(p. 85)
• Female and Male Patterns of Offending(p. 85)
• Explaining Female Crime(p. 91)
• A Gendered Theory of Female Offending and the Gender Gap(p. 97)
• Utility of Gendered Perspective(p. 101)
• Summary(p. 103)
• Age and Crime(p. 106)
• National Age--Crime Statistics(p. 107)
• Explaining the Youthful Peak in Offending(p. 108)
• Variations in the Age Curve by Crime Type(p. 112)
• Minority Differences in the Age--Crime Curve(p. 113)
• Cross-Cultural and Historical Differences in the Age--Crime Curve(p. 113)
• Criminal Careers(p. 115)
• Retiring from a Life of Crime(p. 116)
• Older Criminals(p. 117)
• Effects of Age Structure on a Nation's Crime Rate(p. 118)
• Effects of Cohort Size(p. 119)
• Age-by-Gender Differences in Crime(p. 120)
• Conclusion(p. 121)
• 5 Looking for Patterns: Race, Class, and Crime(p. 129)
• Bias in the UCR Crime Index(p. 130)
• A Priori Race Bias(p. 132)
• Empirical Race Bias(p. 132)
• Causes of the Race-Street-Crime Relationship(p. 136)
• Social Class(p. 136)
• The Use and Misuse of Self-Report Data(p. 136)
• Juveniles(p. 137)
• Adults(p. 140)
• Constitutional Differences(p. 140)
• Somatotype(p. 141)
• IQ(p. 141)
• Subculture(p. 143)
• Delayed Gratification(p. 144)
• Approval of Violence(p. 145)
• Family Structure(p. 146)
• Inequality and Caste(p. 148)
• Relative Deprivation(p. 149)
• Hyper-Ghettoization(p. 150)
• Historical Experience and Caste(p. 153)
• Race, White Collar Crime, and Suite Crime(p. 154)
• Conclusion(p. 156)
• 6 Victims of Crime: Issues and Patterns(p. 165)
• Rediscovering Victims and Studying Their Plight(p. 165)
• Exploring the Risks of Becoming a Victim(p. 167)
• Measuring Victimization: Sources of Data(p. 167)
• Informing Authorities: Reporting Rates(p. 169)
• Recognizing Differential Risks(p. 171)
• Fixing Blame: the Controversy Over Shared Responsibility(p. 172)
• Understanding and Avoiding Victimization(p. 174)
• Seeking Reimbursement for Victimization(p. 175)
• Restitution by Offenders(p. 175)
• Civil Lawsuits Against Offenders and Third Parties(p. 176)
• Compensation from Insurance Policies and Government Funds(p. 177)
• Campaigning for Greater Victims' Rights(p. 178)
• The Criminal Justice System: Theory and Practice(p. 179)
• Searching for Justice Informally(p. 180)
• Restorative Justice(p. 180)
• Vigilantism(p. 180)
• Conclusion(p. 181)
• Part 3 Types of Crime(p. 187)
• 7 Violent Crime Trends(p. 191)
• Violent Crime In The United States: Levels And Trends(p. 192)
• Homicide Rates(p. 193)
• Intimate Partner Homicides(p. 194)
• Rape Rates(p. 197)
• Robbery Rates(p. 198)
• Assault Rates(p. 198)
• Regional Variation, Relationships, and Weapons(p. 199)
• Victim--Offender Relationship(p. 200)
• Weapons(p. 200)
• Explaining Violent Crime: Recent Developments(p. 201)
• The Lifestyle--Routine Activity Approach(p. 201)
• The Situational Approach(p. 202)
• Research on the Correlates of Homicide(p. 203)
• Economic Deprivation(p. 203)
• Subculture of Violence(p. 204)
• Lifestyle--Routine Activities(p. 205)
• Situational Factors(p. 206)
• Victim--Offender Relationship(p. 206)
• Research on the Correlates of Rape, Robbery, and Assault(p. 206)
• A Research Agenda for Violent Crime(p. 208)
• Conclusion(p. 209)
• 8 Property Crime Trends(p. 215)
• Current Definitions of Property Crime(p. 216)
• Ucr Part I Offenses(p. 216)
• The Special Case of Arson(p. 217)
• Ucr Part II Offenses(p. 218)
• Current Trends in Property Crime in the United States(p. 218)
• Unemployment and Property Crime(p. 221)
• Criminal Opportunities and Property Crime(p. 223)
• Criminal Opportunities and Potential Property Offenders(p. 225)
• Conclusion(p. 227)
• 9 Vice Crimes: Personal Autonomy Versus Societal Dictates(p. 233)
• The Debate Over Vice Crimes(p. 233)
• The Medicalization of Vice Crime(p. 236)
• Benefits of the Medicalization Approach(p. 237)
• Drawbacks to the Medicalization Approach(p. 237)
• Prostitution(p. 238)
• A Brief History(p. 239)
• The Legal Status of Prostitution(p. 240)
• Types of Prostitutes(p. 241)
• The Socialization of Prostitutes(p. 242)
• The Victimization of Prostitutes(p. 242)
• Pornography(p. 243)
• Historical Considerations(p. 244)
• The Politicization of Pornography(p. 245)
• Is Pornography Harmful?(p. 245)
• Consensual Sodomy and Related Sexual Activity(p. 247)
• A Brief History(p. 248)
• Recent Legal and Law Enforcement Activities(p. 248)
• Gambling(p. 249)
• A Brief History(p. 249)
• Compulsive Gamblers(p. 250)
• Drugs(p. 251)
• Opiates and Cocaine(p. 253)
• Marijuana(p. 254)
• Public Drunkenness(p. 255)
• Drunken Driving(p. 255)
• Overlapping Social Worlds(p. 256)
• Conclusion(p. 257)
• 10 The Mafia Mystique: Organized Crime(p. 265)
• The Nature of Organized Crime(p. 265)
• The Origins of the Mafia Mystique(p. 267)
• The Kefauver Hearings of the 1950s(p. 267)
• The Past Thirty-Five Years: the Generation of the Informant(p. 269)
• Empirical Investigations of the 1970s(p. 270)
• Local Ethnic Group Models(p. 270)
• Enterprise Models(p. 271)
• Comparing the Various Models(p. 273)
• Recent Prosecution Tools(p. 273)
• The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968: Title III(p. 273)
• The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970(p. 275)
• The Mob Trials of the 1980s and 1990s(p. 278)
• The Future of Organized Crime(p. 280)
• Conclusion(p. 282)
• 11 Crimes of Privilege(p. 287)
• Privileged Offenders(p. 288)
• Background and Controversy(p. 289)
• Costs and Victims(p. 290)
• Intangible Costs(p. 291)
• Reasons for Underreporting(p. 292)
• The Ultimate Victims(p. 293)
• Legal and Organizational Construction of Responsibility(p. 294)
• Prosecuting Organizations(p. 295)
• The Decision to Prosecute(p. 296)
• Variations in Sentencing(p. 297)
• Civil Prosecution and Regulation(p. 300)
• Other Controls(p. 302)
• Explaining White Collar Crime(p. 303)
• Opportunities(p. 304)
• Predisposed Offenders(p. 305)
• Decision-Making and Criminal Careers(p. 307)
• Global White Collar Crime(p. 310)
• Conclusion: The Challenge of White Collar Crime(p. 312)
• Part 4 Explaining Criminal Behavior(p. 320)
• 12 Nature, Nurture, and the Development of Criminality(p. 323)
• Criticism of the Critics(p. 325)
• Biological Influences on Behavior(p. 326)
• Heart Rate and Aggressive and Criminal Behavior(p. 326)
• Serotonin and Aggressive Behavior(p. 328)
• Hormones and Aggressive Behavior(p. 329)
• Behavioral Genetics and Analysis of Aggression and Criminal Behavior(p. 331)
• Terms Used in Behavioral Genetics(p. 331)
• Behavioral Genetic Methods(p. 332)
• Behavioral Genetic Study Results(p. 333)
• The Development of Antisocial Behavior(p. 336)
• The Continuity of Antisocial Behavior(p. 336)
• Who Becomes a Criminal?(p. 337)
• The Joint Influence of Nature and Nurture(p. 338)
• Conclusions and Future Directions(p. 341)
• 13 Sources of Criminality: Strain and Subcultural Theories(p. 349)
• Strain Theory(p. 349)
• Classic Strain Theory(p. 350)
• Revisions in Classic Strain Theory(p. 354)
• Contemporary General Strain Theory(p. 355)
• Subcultural Crime Theory(p. 356)
• Criminal Groups and Criminal Values(p. 357)
• The Origins of Criminal Subcultures(p. 360)
• The Impact of Criminal Subcultures on the Individual(p. 361)
• Empirical Evidence Regarding Subcultural Crime Theory(p. 362)
• Conclusion(p. 365)
• 14 Sources of Criminality: Control and Deterrence Theories(p. 373)
• Social Disorganization Theory(p. 374)
• The Legacy of the Social Disorganization Perspective: the Ecology of Crime(p. 376)
• Social Structural Characteristics(p. 376)
• Community Dynamics(p. 377)
• Routine Activities(p. 378)
• Social Bonding Theories(p. 379)
• Origins of Social Bonding Theories(p. 379)
• Elements of the Social Bond(p. 380)
• Research on Social Bonding(p. 381)
• Evaluation of Social Bonding Theory(p. 383)
• Self-Control Theory(p. 383)
• Research on Self-Control(p. 384)
• Evaluation of Self-Control Theory(p. 385)
• Individually Oriented Theories(p. 386)
• Self-Concept Theory(p. 386)
• Self-Esteem Approaches(p. 387)
• The Deterrence Doctrine(p. 388)
• Basic Principles of Deterrence(p. 388)
• Research on Deterrence(p. 389)
• Evaluation of the Deterrence Doctrine(p. 392)
• Conclusion(p. 392)
• Part 5 Criminal Justice(p. 401)
• 15 The Police in America(p. 405)
• Origins and Development of Modern Policing(p. 405)
• The Role of the Police(p. 408)
• The Distribution of Police(p. 410)
• Who the Police Are(p. 412)
• How Police Are Organized(p. 413)
• How Officers Spend Their Time(p. 415)
• Police Discretion and its Control(p. 416)
• Explaining Police Behavior(p. 417)
• Situational Explanations(p. 417)
• Psychological Explanations(p. 418)
• Organizational Explanations(p. 421)
• Controlling Discretion(p. 422)
• The Rule of Law(p. 422)
• Rule-Making by Police Administrators(p. 425)
• Professional Governance(p. 428)
• Trends in Discretion Control(p. 429)
• In Search of Police Legitimacy and Support(p. 430)
• Support for Police Agencies: How Are They Doing?(p. 430)
• Police Legitimacy and the Crime Control Mission(p. 433)
• The Myth and Evidence of Police Crime Control(p. 434)
• Conclusion(p. 437)
• 16 The Social World of America's Courts(p. 447)
• Court Structure and Organization(p. 447)
• The Prosecutor(p. 449)
• Case Screening(p. 452)
• Plea Bargaining(p. 453)
• Prosecutorial Approaches(p. 456)
• Assessing Plea-Bargaining Reform(p. 456)
• The Sentencing Judge(p. 457)
• The Role of the Offense and Prior Record(p. 458)
• The Role of Social Status(p. 459)
• The Victim During Sentencing(p. 463)
• The Community and Sentencing(p. 463)
• Sentencing Reform and Its Impact(p. 464)
• Conclusion(p. 465)
• 17 Imprisonment in the United States(p. 473)
• Prisons Over Time and in Context(p. 474)
• The Birth of the Penitentiary(p. 474)
• Explaining the Origins and Use of the Penitentiary(p. 477)
• The Changing Nature of Prisons(p. 479)
• Federal Prisons(p. 479)
• The Rise of Scientific Rehabilitation(p. 480)
• The Prisoners' Rights Movement(p. 481)
• The Changing Racial Composition of Prisoners(p. 483)
• The Penal Harm Movement(p. 484)
• Privatization of Prisons(p. 485)
• The Nation's Prison Population(p. 486)
• The Numerical Count(p. 486)
• The Growth of Imprisonment(p. 487)
• Characteristics of the Inmate Population(p. 490)
• The Society of Captives(p. 490)
• Living in Prison(p. 491)
• The Deprivation Model(p. 493)
• The Importation Model(p. 494)
• The Effects of Imprisonment(p. 495)
• Inmate Violence and Victimization(p. 496)
• The "Supermax" Prison(p. 498)
• Women in Prison(p. 498)
• Trends in the Incarceration of Women(p. 498)
• Historical Differences(p. 499)
• Gender and the Social World of Imprisonment(p. 501)
• Special Issues(p. 502)
• Guarding Inmates(p. 503)
• Who Are Correctional Officers?(p. 504)
• Maintaining Order and Providing Services(p. 505)
• Occupational Reactions(p. 506)
• Conclusion: Choosing the Future(p. 507)
• 18 Correction Beyond Prison Walls(p. 517)
• The Question of Philosophy(p. 517)
• Types of Programs(p. 518)
• Program Orientation: Control Versus Change(p. 519)
• The Question of Diversion(p. 520)
• Conceptual Issues(p. 520)
• Substantive Issues(p. 521)
• Effectiveness Issues(p. 522)
• Traditional Field Services Programs(p. 523)
• Probation(p. 523)
• Parole(p. 523)
• Issues in Traditional Supervision(p. 524)
• The Relationship(p. 524)
• Supervision Roles(p. 525)
• Classification(p. 525)
• Caseload Size(p. 526)
• Conditions of Supervision(p. 527)
• Revocation(p. 527)
• Effectiveness(p. 528)
• Nontraditional Field Services(p. 529)
• Intensive Supervision(p. 529)
• Electronic House Arrest(p. 531)
• Release Programs(p. 532)
• The Cost Effectiveness of Subincarceration(p. 532)
• Conclusion(p. 533)
• Part 6 Crime Control Issues(p. 539)
• 19 Same Old, Same Old: American Drug Policy in the 1990s(p. 543)
• Federal Spending Trends(p. 544)
• Drug Use Trends(p. 547)
• Drugs and Crime(p. 551)
• Drug Availability and Trafficking(p. 551)
• Cities and Gangs(p. 554)
• Conclusion: Drug Control Principles and Policy(p. 555)
• 20 Responding to Gangs: Does the Dose Match the Problem?(p. 561)
• Youth Firearm Violence(p. 563)
• The Prevalence of Gangs(p. 563)
• Responding to Gang-Related Crime and Delinquency(p. 564)
• Contemporary Responses to Gangs(p. 567)
• Gang Legislation(p. 567)
• Federal Policy and Gangs(p. 568)
• Conclusion(p. 573)
• 21 The Guns-Crime Connection(p. 577)
• Gun Control(p. 578)
• Effects of Gun Laws(p. 579)
• Guns, Crimes, and Numbers(p. 580)
• Is Strict Gun Control A Plausible Policy?(p. 582)
• Suicides and Accidents(p. 583)
• Felons and Guns(p. 584)
• Youth and Guns(p. 584)
• Crimes of Passion(p. 585)
• Characteristics of Crimes of Passion(p. 585)
• Guns as Catalysts to Violence(p. 587)
• Geographic Comparisons(p. 587)
• Public Opinion(p. 589)
• Gun Ownership and Self-Defense(p. 590)
• Motivations for Owning a Gun(p. 590)
• Defensive Gun Uses(p. 590)
• The Extent of Crime Deterrence(p. 591)
• The Saturday Night Special(p. 592)
• Serious Criminals and the SNS(p. 592)
• Noncriminals and the SNS(p. 593)
• Assault Weapons(p. 593)
• Conclusion(p. 594)
• 22 Career Criminals and Crime Control(p. 601)
• Understanding Differences Among Offenders(p. 602)
• Dimensions of Criminal Careers(p. 603)
• Juvenile Patterns(p. 603)
• Offender Types(p. 604)
• Specialization(p. 605)
• Seriousness(p. 606)
• Career Length(p. 607)
• Drug Use(p. 608)
• Incapacitation as A Crime Control Strategy(p. 609)
• Incapacitation, Crime Rates, and Prison Populations(p. 609)
• Greenwood's Selective Incapacitation Study(p. 610)
• Identifying Serious, Frequent Offenders(p. 611)
• Offender Characteristics(p. 613)
• Conclusion(p. 615)
• 23 Capital Punishment in America(p. 621)
• Capital Punishment in the United States(p. 621)
• Capital Punishment in the Post-Gregg Era(p. 623)
• Public Opinion Concerning the Death Penalty(p. 626)
• Debating the Major Issues(p. 627)
• Capital Punishment as a Deterrent to Crime(p. 628)
• Discrimination and Capital Punishment(p. 629)
• The Cost of Life Imprisonment(p. 634)
• Wrongful Executions(p. 635)
• Capital Punishment as a Moral and Symbolic Issue(p. 635)
• Conclusion(p. 637)
• Name Index(p. 645)
• Subject Index(p. 655)