Key Concepts in Crime and Society

A crucial text for whetting the academic appetite of those studying criminology at university. The comprehensive engagement with key crime and deviance debates and issues make this a perfect springboard for launching into the complex, diverse and exciting realm of researching criminology.

Essential reading for those new to the discipline and an invaluable reference point for those well versed in criminology and the sociology of crime and deviance.

The four authors of this concise volume provide an authoritative introduction to diverse key concepts about crime and its relationship to society. Each chapter starts with a definition (e.g., deviance, social control, normalization), providing readers with the vocabulary and conceptual framework for fully understanding chapter contents... a very good way to expose students and the public (and scholars from outside fields) to definitions, ideas, and theories of crime and society.

Professor Ross Coomber is teaches Criminology at Griffith University, Australia.  Dr. Joseph Donnermeyer is a Professor of Rural Sociology at Ohio State University.  Professor Karen McElrath is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Fayetteville State University. John Scott, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Science at the University of New England. His primary research interests are in the fields of sociology (sociology of gender, health and sexuality) and criminology (sociology of deviance and social control). A common theme in his research has been a concern with marginalized social populations and the development of critical and interpretive perspectives to understand the experiences of and social reactions to such populations. He specializes in qualitative methodologies, especially interviews and focus groups.

Section One: Understanding Crime and Criminality Crime (definition of) Deviance (definition of) Crime in pre-industrial society; crime in modern societies; crime in post-modern society The criminal justice system Social construction of crime and deviance Crime and theory Social Control, Governance and Governmentality Researching crime Crime statistics Prevalence, incidence and incident of crime Risk from crime Risk of becoming criminally involved: why do people commit crime Fear and the fear of crime Poverty and exclusion Victims of crime Normalisation Gender and crime Youth and crime Race/ethnicity and crime White collar/middle class and corporate class crime Section Two: Types of Crime and Criminality Human trafficking/slavery Sex work Victimless crime Drug related crime and violence Gangs Environmental crime and green criminology Rural crime Internet/cyber crime State Crime War Crime Terrorism Violence/Interpersonal Violence Section 3: Responses to Crime Crime and the Media Moral Panics Police and Policing Deterrence and Prevention Punishment Prisons Rehabilitation Alternatives to Imprisonment