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.

A compelling case can be made that violent crime, especially after the 1960s, was one of the most significant domestic issues in the United States. Indeed, few issues had as profound an effect on American life in the last third of the twentieth century. After 1965, crime rose to such levels that it frightened virtually all Americans and prompted significant alterations in everyday behaviors and even lifestyles. The risk of being mugged was a concern when Americans chose places to live and schools for their children, selected commuter routes to work, and planned their leisure activities. In some locales, people were afraid to leave their dwellings at any time, day or night, even to go to the market. In the worst of the post-1960s crime wave, Americans spent part of each day literally looking back over their shoulders. The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America is the first book to comprehensively examine this important phenomenon over the entire postwar era. It combines a social history of the United States with the insights of criminology and examines the relationship between rising and falling crime and such historical developments as the postwar economic boom, suburbanization and the rise of the middle class, baby booms and busts, war and antiwar protest, the urbanization of minorities, and more.

Violent Offenders: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice contains cutting-edge scholarship on the broad category of criminal predators, including homicide offenders, sex offenders, financial predators, and conventional street criminals.

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

Provocative and timely: a pioneering neurocriminologist introduces the latest biological research into the causes of--and potential cures for--criminal behavior. With an 8-page full-color insert, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.

Offering a unique and interdisciplinary focus on the roots of violence, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications explores cutting-edge research on the etiology, nature, assessment, and treatment of individuals who commit violent crimes. This edited volume covers the foundations of criminal behavior, offers a balanced discussion of both environmental and biological research, and includes articles written by top researchers and scholars in the field. In Part I, Violent Crime examines the origins of violence, including family and other social factors, media violence, genetics, biochemistry, and head injuries. Part II delves into research on specific subgroups of offenders, including sex offenders, domestic violence perpetrators, murderers, and serial murderers. Part III focuses on issues related to victimology, prevention, and the treatment of violent offenders. Key Features Draws from a wide range of disciplines, including criminology, sociology, biology, medical science, genetics, clinical psychology, and psychiatry Introduces students to cutting-edge research on genetic, biochemical, and traumatic brain injury-related causes and correlates of violent crime Presents a systematic introduction to the current state of the field (and its likely future) through articles from leading researchers in the various subfields of violent crime Includes case studies with salient, fascinating examples of actual crimes and criminals to help students understand key points Offers an international focus, with authors from Canada, England, Greece, and Spain, as well as from the United States Provides end-of-chapter learning aids, including summaries, discussion questions, Internet resources, and suggestions for further reading A must-read for any student of criminological research, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications can be used as a core or supplementary text in undergraduate and graduate courses on Violent Crime, Interpersonal Violence, and Social Deviance.

Although the public interest in criminal predators is extensive, the criminology of criminal predators is fragmented. Violent Offenders: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice, Second Edition aims to demystify the many different types of violent offenders we hear about in the media. This newly revised and updated Second Edition is a compilation of original scholarship from an international collection of applied and academic criminologists. Based not only on history and academic research but also on the experiences of author Peter Conis as a 25 year veteran of law enforcement, it provides students with a realistic view of why people commit violent crimes and how our criminal justice system, as a whole, responds to these offenders and these violent acts. It contains cutting-edge material on the broad category of criminal predators, including homicide offenders, sex offenders, financial predators, and conventional street criminals. Unlike other texts on the subject that narrowly focus on one type of criminal (e.g., serial killers), this updated Second Edition illustrates the systemic importance of predation in antisocial behavior. This book is divided into two parts; part one covers the theoretical and disciplinary foundations of the study of violent behavior, spanning the disciplines of sociology, psychology, biology, and neuroscience. Part two covers the policy and practice of responding to violent offenders from the insightful perspectives of people who work among them on a daily basis. New and Key Features of the Second Edition: • Contains 10 NEW chapters (5 in theory and research and 5 in policy and practice). These additions provide greater overall coverage of sociological theory, evolutionary psychology theory, and female offenders. The section on policy and practice is organized to be consistent with the criminal justice system, from law enforcement through the courts, to corrections. • Hands-on research and practitioner expertise illustrate today’s study of criminal predation • Provides clear explanations of how criminological theory relates to the formation of a criminal offender to help students understand the reasons behind a person’s violent actions

This is the second edition of the landmark book that standardized the language and terminology used throughout the criminal justice system. It classifies the critical characteristics of the perpetrators and victims of major crimes—murder, arson, sexual assault, and nonlethal acts—based on the motivation of the offender. The second edition contains new classifications on computer crimes, religion-extremist murder, and elder female sexual homicide. This edition also contains new information on stalking and child abduction, the use of biological agents as weapons, cybercrimes, Internet child sex offenders, burglary and rape, and homicidal poisoning. In addition, many of the case studies and crime statistics have been updated.

Contributors to this volume present and discuss new data which suggest that major mental disorder substantially increases the risk of violent crime. These findings come at a crucial time, since those who suffer from mental disorders are increasingly living in the community, rather than in institutions. The book describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem and offers hope that humane, effective intervention can prevent violent crime being committed by the seriously mentally disordered.

This edited volume includes chapters, written by experts in the field, dealing with the social-scientific study of the causes, patterns, and consequences of violent crime and homicide in the contemporary world. The themes range from domestic abuse to racial violence and killings in the United States and across the world.