Social Science : Criminology

The American prison system has grown tenfold since the 1970s, but crime rates in the United States have not decreased. Michael J. Lynch, a critical criminologist, argues that our oversized prison system is a product of our consumer culture, the public’s inaccurate beliefs about controlling crime, and the government’s criminalizing of the poor. While deterrence and incapacitation theories suggest that imprisoning more criminals and punishing them leads to a reduction in crime, case studies, such as one focusing on the New York City jail system between 1993 and 2003, show that a reduction in crime is unrelated to the size of jail populations. Although we are locking away more people, Lynch explains that we are not targeting the worst offenders. Prison populations are comprised of the poor, and many are incarcerated for relatively minor robberies and violence. America’s prison expansion focused on this group to the exclusion of corporate and white collar offenders who create hazardous workplace and environmental conditions that lead to deaths and injuries, and enormous economic crimes. If America truly wants to reduce crime, Lynch urges readers to rethink cultural values that equate bigger with better. more...

Price: $17.00

Noted criminologist Anthony Walsh demonstrates how information from the biological sciences both strengthens criminology work and complements traditional theories of criminal behavior. With its reasoned case for biological science as a fundamental tool of the criminologist, this text is required reading for students and faculty within the field of criminology. more...

Price: $60.00

This volume covers the analysis of bloodstain patterns found at the scene of violent crimes. It outlines an effective method of crime scene reconstruction and presents each of the methods of analysis in the context of how it is used to solve crimes. more...

Price: $99.95

Violence so often begets violence. Victims respond with revenge only to inspire seemingly endless cycles of retaliation. Conflicts between nations, between ethnic groups, between strangers, and between family members differ in so many ways and yet often share this dynamic. In this powerful and timely book Martha Minow and others ask: What explains these cycles and what can break them? What lessons can we draw from one form of violence that might be relevant to other forms? Can legal responses to violence provide accountability but avoid escalating vengeance? If so, what kinds of legal institutions and practices can make a difference? What kinds risk failure?Breaking the Cycles of Hatred represents a unique blend of political and legal theory, one that focuses on the double-edged role of memory in fueling cycles of hatred and maintaining justice and personal integrity. Its centerpiece comprises three penetrating essays by Minow. She argues that innovative legal institutions and practices, such as truth commissions and civil damage actions against groups that sponsor hate, often work better than more conventional criminal proceedings and sanctions. Minow also calls for more sustained attention to the underlying dynamics of violence, the connections between intergroup and intrafamily violence, and the wide range of possible responses to violence beyond criminalization.A vibrant set of freestanding responses from experts in political theory, psychology, history, and law examines past and potential avenues for breaking cycles of violence and for deepening our capacity to avoid becoming what we hate. The topics include hate crimes and hate-crimes legislation, child sexual abuse and the statute of limitations, and the American kidnapping and internment of Japanese Latin Americans during World War II. Commissioned by Nancy Rosenblum, the essays are by Ross E. Cheit, Marc Galanter, Fredrick C. Harris, Judith Lewis Herman, Carey Jaros, Frederick M. Lawrence, Austin Sarat, Aye more...

Price: $65.00

This book aims to present key aspects of the prison-based bullying research which has taken place over the last few years. It is a field in which there has been considerably increased interest. One of the main features of this book is the recognition that much previous bullying research has been descriptive in nature, with little underlying theory to assist its development as an area of academic interest. In addressing this need this book will serve as an indispensable resource for students, academics and professionals with interests in this field. Chapters in the book address the following areas: need for innovation in prison bullying research, statistics on bullying, combining methods to research prison bullying, bullying behaviour among women in prison, bullying and suicides in prisons, developmental antecedents of prison bullies and/or victims, applying evolutionary theory to prison bullying, applying social problem solving models to prison bullying. more...

Price: $84.95