Criminology Resource Guide

Some researchers maintain that there is a biological basis for crime and violence, theorizing that biological and genetic factors affect the brain and central nervous system in ways that lead to delinquent behavior.

Choice theories of crime and violence are based on the assumption that humans can exercise free will and that people make rational decisions. According to this view, delinquents choose to act improperly, just as nondelinquents choose to act properly.

Conflict theories have their roots in radical political movements such as Marxism and anarchism. Since the 1960s, they have also been influenced by the feminist and anti-racist movements as well as post-structuralism and anti-imperialist theories.

Control theories are unique in the field of criminology in that they intend to answer a different question than do most other theories. While most criminological theories are intended to explain why criminals offend, control theories seek to identify the reasons why persons refrain from criminal activity.

Race and involvement in crime, imprisonment of African Americans, explanations for disproportionate imprisonment of racial minorities, The impact of the war on drugs, and a bibliography.

The roots of modern criminology can be found in the writings of social philosophers, who addressed Hobbes's question: "How is society possible?" Locke and Rousseau believed that humans are endowed with free will and are self-interested. If this is so, the very existence of society is problematic. If we are all free to maximize our own self-interest we cannot live together. Those who want more and are powerful can simply take from the less powerful. The question then, as now, focuses on how is it possible for us to live together. Criminologists are concerned with discovering answers to this basic question.

Includes the history, sociology and criminology, political criminology, other issues, and a bibliography.

Includes a glossary of terms, theories, and a bibliography.

The study of crime and criminals is the province of the field of criminology. As the late Edwin Sutherland wrote in his classic work Principles of Criminology (1939, 1): “Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws.” Although Sutherland's definition of criminology is commonly accepted and widely quoted, it is not quite accurate because it declares that the study of crime is solely focused on social factors. In fact, the study of crime by criminologists has encompassed several fields of knowledge that are not primarily social in nature.

Criminology has historically been an androcentric, or male-focused and male-centered, field. Early criminologists basically ignored female crime. Those who did discuss this issue considered it to be part of females' pathology or hysterical nature, as psychologist Sigmund Freud suggested. A theory is based on some type of data, which may be collected from actual subjects (in surveys, in interviews, or by other means) or through secondary sources (e.g., analysis of court records, historical documents). Historically, criminologists studied only men or analyzed data only from men in developing their theories.

Includes an overview of criminal theories and a bibliography.

The purpose of this introductory chapter is to show how the changing geopolitical landscape and other factors shape our renewed discussion of crime and its causes, as well as possible policy responses. Six fundamental changes can be identified that demonstrate the changed nature of our world. These changes all move toward increasing interconnection and interdependence. They are: (1) globalization; (2) the communications revolution, particularly the Internet; (3) privatization and individualization; (4) the global spread of disease; (5) changing perceptions of conflict and national security; and (6) the internationalization of terrorism.

Race and crime and the impact of the War on Drugs on racial minorities.

History of prisons and prison reform.

Includes a glossary, history of prisons, prison populations, prison conditions, and bibliography.

The term prison-industrial complex refers to the economic interrelation between prisons and the various public and private job sectors that have become dependent on the expansion of the prison system. A partial list of these sectors includes construction, pharmaceuticals, and law enforcement, including probation and parole. The prison-industrial complex also provides a cheap labor force for various corporations.

For more than three decades, since the early 1970s, the United States has undergone an unprecedented wave of prison expansion, building and filling prisons faster than at any time in human history. In 1972, federal and state prisons held 196,000 inmates, with another 130,000 in local jails. Since then, the national inmate population has dramatically risen.

Includes a glossary, issues, historical overview, purpose of punishment, recent trends, current issues, and a bibliography.

History of the war on drugs from the 1980s.

The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.

Provides background, key events, and conclusion with further reading list.

Crime counts constitute an important element in the calculation of crime rates, but they are only one factor.Rather than report simple crime counts, social scientists often calculate crime rates.
Includes the sources of crime data in the U.S.

For more than a century, police have maintained statistics on various forms of crime, as well as on arrest rates and imprisonment rates. Such information has become important as a criminological tool, as well as a political one. Fluctuations in crime rates have important political consequences for elected officials, and in their ability to protect the life and property of constituents in the most cost-effective manner.

Provides information on the prevalence, theories, partner violence, child abuse, elder abuse, effects, legal responses, assistance, and a bibliography on domestic violence.

Provides information on gang organization, social factors, and violence.

Provides information on the scope, causes, cost, solutions, and further readings on school violence.

As coined in the earliest phases of American sociology, the meaning of the term ‘social control’ was a very broad one, insofar as it seemed to be useful to describe and explain a whole variety of social facts and problems.

Although the United States has not historically been more violent than any other country, violence does play a particular role in the nation's conception of itself. Around the world, people regard the United States as a paradise of material luxuries marred by high crime rates and violent impulses deeply rooted in its psyche.

Provides information on types, prevention, providing references,and a bibliography about workplace violence.