NCJ Number
137245
Date Published
1991
Length
537 pages
Annotation
This introductory text explains the basic principles of the empirical study of criminology and introduces students to Swiss, French, English, and German research.
Abstract
The first section focuses on basic concepts involving crime and society: the position of criminology in criminal studies, the teaching of criminology, research methods, and interpretation of results. A special chapter introduces different kinds of statistics as indicators of criminal activity and of social control. The second part is devoted to sociological factors in crime and discusses criminality in different types of society, cultural pluralism, demographic factors, different theories explaining crime, and situational approaches (e.g., defensible space). The final section presents society's response to crime such as different types of prevention, the penal system, public opinion concerning crime and security, and society's response as a factor in creating crime. Each chapter includes a detailed bibliography, and an index is appended.