Since its introduction in the latter half of the 1980s, the meticulous study of distinct criminal career dimensions, like onset, frequency, and crime mix, has yielded a wealth of information on the way crime develops over the life-span. Policymakers in turn have used this information in their efforts to tailor criminal justice interventions to be both effective and efficient. Life-course criminology studies the ways in which the criminal career is embedded in the totality of the individual life-course and seeks to clarify the causal mechanisms governing this process. The Routledge International Handbook of Life-Course Criminology provides an authoritative collection of international theoretical and empirical research into the way that criminal behavior develops over the life-span, which causal mechanisms are involved in shaping this development, and to what degree criminal justice interventions are successful in redirecting offenders’ criminal trajectories. Drawing upon qualitative and quantitative research this handbook covers theory, describes and compares criminal career patterns across different countries, tests current explanations of criminal development, and using cutting-edge methods, assesses the intended and unintended effects of formal interventions. This book is the first of its kind to offer a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art developments in criminal career and life-course research, providing unique perspectives and exclusive local knowledge from over 50 international scholars. This book is an ideal companion for teachers and researchers engaged in the field of developmental and life-course criminology.

Criminological research has historically been based on the study of men, boys and crime. As a result, the criminal justice system’s development of policies, programs, and treatment regimes was based on the male offender. It was not until the 1970s that some criminologists began to draw attention to the neglect of gender in the study of crime, but today, the study of gender and crime is burgeoning within criminology and includes a vast literature. The Routledge International Handbook of Crime and Gender Studies is a collection of original, cutting-edge, multidisciplinary essays which provide a thorough overview of the history and development of research on gender and crime, covering topics based around: theoretical and methodological approaches gender and victimization gender and offending gendered work in the criminal justice system future directions in gender and crime research. Alongside these essays are boxes which highlight particularly innovative ideas or controversial topics – such as cybercrime, restorative justice, campus crime, and media depictions. A second set of boxes features leading gender and crime researchers who reflect on what sparked their interest in the subject. This engaging and thoughtful collection will be invaluable for students and scholars of criminology, sociology, psychology, public health, social work, cultural studies, media studies, economics and political science.

Biosocial criminology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to explain crime and antisocial behavior by exploring both biological factors and environmental factors. Since the mapping of the human genome, scientists have been able to study the biosocial causes of human behaviour with the greatest specificity. After decades of almost exclusive sociological focus, criminology has undergone a paradigm shift where the field is more interdisciplinary and this book combines perspectives from criminology and sociology with contributions from fields such as genetics, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology. The Routledge International Handbook of Biosocial Criminology is the largest and most comprehensive work of its kind, and is organized into five sections that collectively span the terrain of biosocial research on antisocial behavior. Bringing together leading experts from around the world, this book considers the criminological, genetic and neuropsychological foundations of offending, as well as the legal and criminal justice applications of biosocial criminological theory. The handbook is essential reading for students, researchers, and practitioners from across the social, behavioural, and natural sciences who are engaged in the study of antisocial behaviour.

The Routledge International Handbook of Delinquency and Health presents state-of-the-art research and theorizing on the intersections between health, delinquency, and the juvenile justice system. Organized into three parts--Theoretical and Empirical Foundations; Behavioral, Mental, and Physical Health Conditions; and Prevention, Policy, and Health Promotion Systems--it is the largest and most comprehensive work of its kind, featuring contributions from scholars from multiple nations and global regions. A growing number of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from criminology and criminal justice, social work, medicine, psychiatry and psychology, and other health science disciplines engage with marginalized adolescent populations who are at elevated risk for violence and delinquency, alcohol and other drug use, health and mental health problems, and other difficulties directly related to public safety and well-being. These risk factors often lead to short-term (e.g., detention, juvenile residential treatment facilities) and long-term (e.g., prison, parole) contact with the criminal justice system. As these fields increasingly overlap, the distinctions between them are blurred. Sound decision-making in the juvenile justice system depends on adequate research and policy at the intersection of delinquency and health. This volume represents an agenda-setting scholarly resource for the expansion of research and policy-making across the international delinquency and health continuum, and will be an essential resource for all who study or work in the field.

This collection of essays offers students, faculty, policy makers and others an in-depth overview of the most up-to-date empirical, theoretical, and political contributions made by critical criminologists.

At a time when Europe is witnessing major cultural, social, economic and political challenges and transformations, this book brings together leading researchers and experts to consider a range of pressing questions relating to the historical origins, contemporary manifestations and future prospects for juvenile justice. Questions considered include: How has the history of juvenile justice evolved across Europe and how might the past help us to understand the present and signal the future? What do we know about contemporary juvenile crime trends in Europe and how are nation states responding? Is punitivity and intolerance eclipsing child welfare and pedagogical imperatives, or is ‘child-friendly justice’ holding firm? How might we best understand both the convergent and the divergent patterning of juvenile justice in a changing and reformulating Europe? How is juvenile justice experienced by identifiable constituencies of children and young people both in communities and in institutions? What impacts are sweeping austerity measures, together with increasing mobilities and migrations, imposing? How can comparative juvenile justice be conceptualised and interpreted? What might the future hold for juvenile justice in Europe at a time of profound uncertainty and flux? This book is essential reading for students, tutors and researchers in the fields of criminology, history, law, social policy and sociology, particularly those engaged with childhood and youth studies, human rights, comparative juvenile/youth justice, youth crime and delinquency and criminal justice policy in Europe.

Routledge International Handbook of Critical Gang Studies is rooted in the instability, inequality and liquidity of the post-industrial era. It understands the gang as a complex and contradictory phenomenon; a socio-historical agent that reflects, responds to and creates a certain structured environment in spaces which are always in flux. International in scope and drawing on a range of sociological, criminological and anthropological traditions, it looks beyond pathological, ahistorical and non-transformative approaches, and considers other important factors that produce the phenomenon, whether the historically entrenched racialized power structure and segregation in Chicago; the unconstrained state-abandoned development of favelas in Brazil; or the colonization, displacement and dependency of people in Central America. This handbook reflects and defines the new theoretical and empirical traditions of critical gang studies. It offers a variety of perspectives, including: A view of gangs that takes into consideration the global context and appearance of the "gang" in its various forms and stages of development; An appreciation of the gang as a socio-cultural formation; A race-ethnic and class analysis of the gang that problematizes domain assumptions such as the "underclass"; Gender variations of the gang phenomenon with a particular emphasis on their intersectional properties; Relations between gangs and the political economy that address the dominant mode of production and exchange; Treatments that demonstrate the historically contingent nature of gangs and their changes across time; The contradictory impact of gang repressive policies, institutions and practices as part of a broader discussion on the nature of the state in specific societies; and Critical methodologies on gangs that involve discussions of visual and textual representations and the problematics of data collection and analysis. Authoritative, multi-disciplinary and international, this book will be of interest to criminologists, sociologists and anthropologists alike, particularly those engaged with critical criminology/sociology, youth crime, delinquency and global social inequality. The Handbook will also be of interest to policy makers and those in the peacebuilding field.

In response to misconceptions and sub-optimal assessment of situational interaction in the criminological literature, this volume is a comprehensive resource for researchers of person-environment interaction in human behavioural outcomes, with a focus on acts of crime. It provides a bridge between strong complex theory about causal situational interaction in crime and the appropriate methods for empirically testing proposed situational mechanisms. It is underwritten by the principle that research should be driven by theory and served by method. This volume clarifies the key concepts of interaction and situation within the framework of Situational Action Theory (SAT). It details the implications of these conceptual issues for an appropriate integrative analytical approach to data collection and analysis that places situational interaction at the heart of research into the causes of behaviour (such as acts of crime). Using existing examples of attempts to analyse person-environment interaction, the volume distinguishes and showcases different methods and evaluates their appropriateness for the study of situational interaction in behaviour. Appropriate for researchers in criminology and the behavioural sciences more generally, Studying Situational Interaction is essential for those studying the individual and environmental causes of human actions such as crime.

This book makes an important contribution to the international understanding of domestic violence and shares the latest knowledge of what causes and sustains domestic violence between intimate partners, as well as the effectiveness of responses in working with adult and child victims, and those who act abusively towards their partners. Drawing upon a wide range of contemporary research from across the globe, it recognises that domestic violence is both universal, but also shaped by local cultures and contexts. Divided into seven parts: • Introduction. • Theoretical perspectives on domestic violence and abuse. • Domestic violence and abuse across the life-course. • Manifestations of domestic violence and abuse. • Responding to domestic violence and abuse. • Researching domestic violence and abuse. • Concluding thoughts. It will be of interest to all academics and students working in social work, allied health, sociology, criminology and gender studies as well as policy professionals looking for new approaches to the subject.