NCJ Number
103453
Editor(s)
J F Sheley
Date Published
1987
Length
400 pages
Annotation
Intended for use in introductory and advanced criminology and criminal justice courses, this text considers how a 'crime problem' is structured, criminal behavior manifested in various types of offenses, and efforts to combat crime.
Abstract
The theme uniting all the readings is that crime must be understood as a 'social problem' which is so perceived by sufficient numbers of people that legislators respond in criminalizing the behavior perceived to be the cause of the problem. Anticrime policy thus becomes based on public perceptions and fears. The readings address both the construction and the accuracy of public perceptions about crime and describe the influence of major interest groups and the criminal justice system upon perceptions of the 'crime problem.' The chapters explore the different messages about crime received from different types of crime statistics. Readings cover public misunderstandings about the following types of crime: vice (drugs, pornography, and prostitution), predatory crime, organized crime, and white collar crime. The concluding section of readings explores such anticrime efforts as incapacitation policy, capital punishment, gun control, and corrections. Extensive tabular data and references.