NCJ Number
169670
Editor(s)
M Maguire
Date Published
1996
Length
604 pages
Annotation
These 25 journal articles examine street crime in terms of its nature and extent; offender characteristics; the relationship between drugs and street crime; public attitudes; and policy issues in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada.
Abstract
The articles were selected to represent some of the most important articles published on the topic in recent years, as well as some pioneering essays from earlier decades. Most of the articles were published in the 1980's and 1990's. The first six papers focus on urban crime patterns, the routine activities perspective, the concept of hot spots, and social disorganization theory. The next six papers discuss street gangs, with emphasis on their relationship to wider social structures and cultures and to crime and delinquency. Four further papers examine the relationship between drugs and crime and emphasize the complexity of the topic and the difficulty of reaching firm conclusions regarding cause and effect. Five additional articles introduce themes concerning the politicization of anxiety about street crime, including the use of youth gangs as scapegoats for wider problems in society and exaggeration in describing the threat they pose to social order. The final four papers present opinions about policies to address street crime, particularly gang activities. Figures, tables, footnotes, chapter reference lists, and index