Criminology

• NCJ Number: 89472
• Author(s): S Hurwitz; K O Christiansen
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 451 pages
• Sale Source: George Allen and Unwin
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Second edition. Based on the 3rd Danish edition of the author's 'Kriminologi', published in two volumes, 1968-1971.

Annotation

This handbook of criminology has major sections on the science of criminology and the biological, sociological, and sociopsychological backgrounds of crime.

Abstract

As used in this book, criminology refers to that part of criminal science which empirically describes criminal behavior and explores individual and social factors associated with crime and criminals. The section on the science of criminology opens with a definition of criminology and brief descriptions of its branches: criminography, criminal sociology, criminal biology, sociopsychological study of crime, criminal genetics, prediction research, and victimology. Other topics covered in this section are the relationship between criminology and criminal law, sources and methods, the history of criminology, and a study of crime in Denmark. The section on the biological background of crime begins with a discussion of the relevance of genetics to criminology, followed by an evaluation of recent specific family and statistical family research, as well as studies of twins and adoptees. Other chapters in the section are devoted to criminal somatology, psychoses, isolated abnormal reactions, neuroses, oligophrenia, psychopathy, sexual abnormalities, and frequency of mental deviations among criminals. The section dealing with the general sociological background of crime considers temporal variations in crime and the influences of the material culture and war on crime. Also considered are the geographical distribution of criminality; race, nationality, and minorities; the nonmaterial culture; alcohol and drugs; and sex and age differences in criminality. The concluding section focuses on the sociopsychological background of crime, with attention to the family, school and peer groups, marital status, prediction, and occupation, economy, and social class. In addition to a list of abbreviations and subject and author indexes, about 750 bibliographic entries are provided. Extensive tabular data are also included.