NCJ Number
62115
Date Published
1978
Length
224 pages
Annotation
THIS TEXT DRAWS ON BOTH CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE MATERIAL TO INTRODUCE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO ISSUES AND CONCEPTS RELATED TO STUDY OF CRIME AND OFFENDERS.
Abstract
TOPICS INCLUDE A DEFINITION OF CRIME, HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF CRIME IN COLONIAL, WESTERN FRONTIER, AND 20TH CENTURY AMERICA, AND AN ASSESSMENT OF THE MAGNITUDE AND TRENDS OF CRIME AS SHOWN IN CRIMINAL STATISTICS, UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS, VICTIM SURVEY RESEARCH, AND SELF-REPORTED CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. OTHER SUBJECTS ARE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRIME THEORY AND SCIENTIFIC CRIMINOLOGY, 20TH CENTURY BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM, CRIME CAUSATION AND SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS, INCLUDING CRIMINAL TYPOLOGIES, BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS, AND SOCIAL CONTROL. BOTH CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE HAVE GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY IN RECENT DECADES SO THAT CRIMINOLOGY NOW INCLUDES RESEARCH THEORIES ON THE RELATIVE NATURE OF CRIME, THE ROLE OF CRIME IN ORGANIZED SOCIETY, AND THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CRIME AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. IN FACT, CRIME CAN, IN MANY WAYS, BE NORMAL BEHAVIOR THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS DEVIANT THROUGH AN INTERACTIVE PROCESS THAT LABELS CERTAIN ACTIVITY AS NONCONFORMING, DEVIANT, AAND ULTIMATELY, CRIMINAL. CRIMINAL JUSTICE, WHEN SEEN AS AN INTEGRATION OF IDEAS AND PROCEDURES, IS A RELATIVELY NEW DISCIPLINE AND HAS JUST BEGUN DEALING WITH MANY ASPECTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION IN TRYING TO DEVELOP AN ORDERLY, EFFICIENT, AND JUST MECHANISM FOR PROCESSING AND MANAGING THE RESULTS OF CRIME IN SOCIETY. NEEDED RESEARCH WOULD PROBE CAUSES AND DEVELOPMENT OF CRIME AND FORMULATE NEW STRATEGIES FOR MEASURING, LOCATING, AND IDENTIFYING CRIME. BOTH CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CRIMINOLOGY SHOULD BE PRAGMATIC IN DEALING WITH PRACTICAL SOCIAL GOALS, AND HUMANISTIC IN SEEKING TO MEET THOSE GOALS WITHIN A FRAMEWORK THAT PROTECTS HUMAN RIGHTS. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--AOP)