NCJ Number
173853
Date Published
1996
Length
318 pages
Annotation
This book is intended to serve as an introduction to 20th century crime problems in the United States and to provide a basic understanding of how the criminal justice system works.
Abstract
The book provides historical information on landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, important legislation, and key figures who have tried to study or prevent crime in some way. The first chapter of the book surveys crime problems in the United States by looking at organized crime, the Mafia, white-collar crime, drugs and crime, approaches to crime control, the use of computers and technology in crime prevention, specific crime prevention strategies, abuses of power, the criminal justice system, criminals and their victims, gangs, and gun control laws. The next two chapters of the book include a chronology of crime trends and developments and biographic sketches on sociologists, investigators, and law enforcement agencies who have attempted to control crime. Subsequent chapters contain facts and statistics on crime trends and specific offenses, a directory of organizations involved in crime prevention efforts, and print and nonprint resources on many aspects of crime. Notes, tables, and figures