NCJ Number
169136
Date Published
1996
Length
330 pages
Annotation
This text is intended as an introduction to criminology from the perspective of sociological criminology and with an emphasis on important theoretical developments.
Abstract
The text examines the historical development of criminology as an academic discipline, primarily within a British context. It also presents the main criminological theories that have emerged in the United States and other countries as the field has grown during the 20th century. The first section identifies problems associated with defining terms such as crime and deviance, the technical and conceptual difficulties encountered in measuring the amount and distribution of crime in society, and the history of criminology from the 19th century to World War II. The second section focuses on developments since the war to the mid-1960's, with emphasis on theories of social disorganization, strain theory, subculture theory, and criminology theory in Great Britain. The third section discusses criminology from the mid 1960's to the early 1970's and considers labeling theory and other aspects of the interactionist approach to deviance. The fourth section focuses on the 1970's and political influences, conflict theory, critical criminology, control theory, and feminist criminology. The final section focuses on the 1980's and 1990's, the growth of policy-oriented research in Great Britain, and contemporary developments in criminological theory. Name and subject indexes and approximately 500 references