NCJ Number
116581
Editor(s)
J F Galliher
Date Published
1989
Length
372 pages
Annotation
Major sections of this book on criminology discuss causes, types, and amount of crime; origins of written law; administration of criminal law; and punishment of crime.
Abstract
The assumptions of this book are the unjust and class-based nature of what is called crime, the law as a defining mechanism of crime, and the failure of law enforcement agencies to produce data suited to the scientific study of people or their behavior. Chapters on the causes, types, and amount of crime provide a historical discussion of the theories of crime and criminal behavior; a review of crime types, with a separate chapter on organized crime; and an examination of the measurement of crime. Chapters addressing the origins of written law consider the social basis of law and the origins of American marijuana laws. Three chapters on the administration of criminal law focus respectively on the police, the courts, and psychiatrists. Chapters pertinent to the punishment of crime address the control and prevention of crime, the history of incarceration, the effects of formal and informal prison organization, and the possibility of psychological change in prisons. The final chapter summarizes contemporary criminology under the topics of human nature, human rights, and the development of criminological theory. Chapter references, subject index.