* How widespread is violence? * Why do people engage in various forms of violence? * What can be done to reduce the level of violence? Understanding Violent Crime provides a concise yet thorough and extensive account of the main explanations of violent behaviour. It draws upon sociological and psychological perspectives on violence as part of a coherent approach to the study of a phenomenon that raises wide public concern. There is also a focus on the ways in which violence is considered by the criminal justice system. Definitions of the main violent offences, including violent sexual offences, are discussed and some indication of the levels of sentencing in particular cases is provided. The final chapter then considers ways in which offenders are able to confront their violent behaviour within the criminal justice system. Frequent references to the definitions and treatment of violence in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA give the book a distinctive comparative perspective. The result is a wide-ranging and essential undergraduate text and a key reference for researchers in the field.

What impels human beings to harm others -- family members or strangers? And how can these impulses and actions be prevented or controlled? Heightened public awareness of, and concern about, what is widely perceived as a recent explosion of violence -- on a spectrum from domestic abuse to street crime -- has motivated behavioral and social scientists to cast new light on old questions. Many hypotheses have been offered. This volume sorts, structures, and evaluates them.The author draws on contemporary research and theory in varied fields--sociology, clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, neuropsychology, behavioral genetics, child development, and education--to present a uniquely balanced, integrated, and readable summary of what we currently know about the causes and effects of violence. Throughout, she emphasizes the necessity of distinguishing among different types of violent behavior and of realizing that nature and nurture interact in human development. Controversial issues such as physical punishment and violent television programming receive special attention making this volume an important resource for all those concerned with violent offenders and their victims -- and for their students and trainees.In this third edition of Understanding Violence, author Elizabeth Kandel Englander draws on contemporary research and theory in varied fields to present a uniquely balanced, integrated, and readable summary of what we currently know about the causes and effects of violence, particularly its effect on children. The goal of this textbook is to give a critical review of the most relevant and important areas of research on street and family violence, examining why it is that people become violent. Between 1994 and 2004 the United States benefited from a dramatic decline in rates of violent crime. However, as the economy has weakened in recent years and tougher times have returned, the crime rate has shown signs of a modest

By conservative estimates, more than 16,000 violent crimes are committed or attempted every day in the United States. Violence involves many factors and spurs many viewpoints, and this diversity impedes our efforts to make the nation safer. Now a landmark volume from the National Research Council presents the first comprehensive, readable synthesis of America's experience of violence-offering a fresh, interdisciplinary approach to understanding and preventing interpersonal violence and its consequences. Understanding and Preventing Violence provides the most complete, up-to-date responses available to these fundamental questions: How much violence occurs in America? How do different processes-biological, psychosocial, situational, and social-interact to determine violence levels? What preventive strategies are suggested by our current knowledge of violence? What are the most critical research needs? Understanding and Preventing Violence explores the complexity of violent behavior in our society and puts forth a new framework for analyzing risk factors for violent events. From this framework the authors identify a number of "triggering" events, situational elements, and predisposing factors to violence-as well as many promising approaches to intervention. Leading authorities explore such diverse but related topics as crime statistics; biological influences on violent behavior; the prison population explosion; developmental and public health perspectives on violence; violence in families; and the relationship between violence and race, ethnicity, poverty, guns, alcohol, and drugs. Using four case studies, the volume reports on the role of evaluation in violence prevention policy. It also assesses current federal support for violence research and offers specific science policy recommendations. This breakthrough book will be a key resource for policymakers in criminal and juvenile justice, law enforcement authorities, criminologists, psychologists, sociologists, public health professionals, researchers, faculty, students, and anyone interested in understanding and preventing violence.

This edited volume provides cutting edge research in an easily accesible format.

What causes people to commit violent crimes? The case studies in this book enable readers to evaluate the motivations behind crimes ranging from arson to rape to gang violence. Violent crime remains a major problem in America: in 2011, there were more than 1.2 million violent crimes committed in the United States. To better grasp the complex reasons behind this disturbing statistic, author David J. Thomas—a police officer and forensic psychologist—conducted an in-depth examination of violent crime to pinpoint why some individuals intentionally inflict pain and suffering upon others. In this book, readers are given access to excerpts from police interviews for each spotlighted crime in the case studies, offering a unique inside look at the true motivations of the criminal. The case studies include examples of arson, crimes against children, gang violence, human trafficking, murder, rape, and robbery. The work also explores the psychology associated with each crime, addresses evidence of corresponding personality types, and delves into victimology.

A law professor and former prosecutor reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system—from mass incarceration to police brutality. We take for granted that some crimes are violent and others aren’t. But how do we decide what counts as a violent act? David Alan Sklansky argues that legal notions about violence—its definition, causes, and moral significance—are functions of political choices, not eternal truths. And these choices are central to failures of our criminal justice system. The common distinction between violent and nonviolent acts, for example, played virtually no role in criminal law before the latter half of the twentieth century. Yet to this day, with more crimes than ever called “violent,” this distinction determines how we judge the seriousness of an offense, as well as the perpetrator’s debt and danger to society. Similarly, criminal law today treats violence as a pathology of individual character. But in other areas of law, including the procedural law that covers police conduct, the situational context of violence carries more weight. The result of these inconsistencies, and of society’s unique fear of violence since the 1960s, has been an application of law that reinforces inequities of race and class, undermining law’s legitimacy. A Pattern of Violence shows that novel legal philosophies of violence have motivated mass incarceration, blunted efforts to hold police accountable, constrained responses to sexual assault and domestic abuse, pushed juvenile offenders into adult prisons, encouraged toleration of prison violence, and limited responses to mass shootings. Reforming legal notions of violence is therefore an essential step toward justice.

What impels human beings to harm others--family members or strangers? And how can these impulses and actions be prevented or controlled? Heightened public awareness of and concern about what is widely perceived as a recent explosion of violence, on a spectrum from domestic abuse to street crime to terrorism has motivated behavioral and social scientists to cast new light on old questions. Many hypotheses have been offered. In this book Elizabeth Kandel Englander sorts, structures, and evaluates them. She draws on contemporary research and theory in varied fields--clinical and social psychology, sociology, criminology, psychiatry, social work, neuropsychology, behavioral genetics, and education--to present a uniquely balanced, integrated, and readable summary of what we currently know about the causes and effects of violence. Throughout, she emphasizes the necessity of distinguishing among different types of violent behavior and of realizing that nature and nurture interact in human development. There are no simple answers and many well-accepted "facts" must be challenged. This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition of Understanding Violence will be welcomed by all those concerned with violent offenders and their victims, and by their students and trainees. New chapters discuss: *biological and psychological factors in violence; *developmental and social learning factors in violence; and *youth violence, including gang conflicts and school shootings. New coverage includes recent research on: *children's use of violent video games and their relationship to violent or aggressive behavior--alcohol use and violence, and the role of alcohol and drugs in violent crime; *the types and causes of sexual assault; *spousal homicide, child abuse, and physical punishment; and *social and cultural factors in violence. Updated statistics on frequencies and types of violent crimes are also incorporated.

Violence is a complex subject that is rooted in a multitude of disciplines, including not only criminology but also psychology, sociology, biology, and other social science disciplines. It is only through understanding violence as a concept that we can hope to respond to it appropriately and to prevent it. The Study of Violent Crime: Its Correlates and Concerns is a comprehensive text that provides a current analysis of violence and violent crime in the United States. Topics discussed include: The history of violence in Europe and America Whether violent behavior can be predicted Possible correlates of violence, including values, poverty, low education, abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse, and shame Sociological theories surrounding crime causation, including social control, conflict and strain, and anomie Psychological approaches to understanding violence from Freud, Bentham, Skinner, and others Biological theories and the influence of positivism and determinism The role of early exposure to violence on future behavior and programs to counteract these effects Gang activity and hate crimes The history of punishment and its effectiveness Victimology and victimization Organized in logical fashion, each chapter builds on previous ones and makes use of concrete examples to clarify concepts. Action boxes help readers focus on salient points and review questions appear at the end of each chapter, enabling readers to test their assimilation of the material.

What impels human beings to harm others--family members or strangers? And how can these impulses and actions be prevented or controlled? Heightened public awareness of and concern about what is widely perceived as a recent explosion of violence, on a spectrum from domestic abuse to street crime to terrorism has motivated behavioral and social scientists to cast new light on old questions. Many hypotheses have been offered. In this book Elizabeth Kandel Englander sorts, structures, and evaluates them. She draws on contemporary research and theory in varied fields--clinical and social psychology, sociology, criminology, psychiatry, social work, neuropsychology, behavioral genetics, and education--to present a uniquely balanced, integrated, and readable summary of what we currently know about the causes and effects of violence. Throughout, she emphasizes the necessity of distinguishing among different types of violent behavior and of realizing that nature and nurture interact in human development. There are no simple answers and many well-accepted "facts" must be challenged. This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition of Understanding Violence will be welcomed by all those concerned with violent offenders and their victims, and by their students and trainees. New chapters discuss: *biological and psychological factors in violence; *developmental and social learning factors in violence; and *youth violence, including gang conflicts and school shootings. New coverage includes recent research on: *children's use of violent video games and their relationship to violent or aggressive behavior--alcohol use and violence, and the role of alcohol and drugs in violent crime; *the types and causes of sexual assault; *spousal homicide, child abuse, and physical punishment; and *social and cultural factors in violence. Updated statistics on frequencies and types of violent crimes are also incorporated.

This title offers a psychosocial perspective on crime and argues that a great deal can be gained by re-integrating psychological approaches with the more sociological perspectives of criminology.