NATURE OF CRIME

• NCJ Number: 58750
• Author(s): H J VETTER; I J SILVERMAN
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 412 pages
• Corporate Author: W B Saunders Co
• Sale Source: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

FOR STUDENTS AND THE GENERAL READER, THIS VOLUME EXAMINES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONAL PROPERTY CRIMES AND THEIR PERPETRATORS, AS WELL AS OF ORGANIZED CRIME, CRIME VICTIMS, WHITE-COLLAR CRIME, AND THEORIES OF CRIMINALITY.

Abstract

A DISCUSSION ON THE ORIGINS AND BASIC PREMISES OF CRIMINAL LAW POINTS OUT ATTEMPTS TO CONTAIN DEVIANCE THROUGH SOCIETAL CONTROLS RANGING FROM INFORMAL DISAPPROVAL TO THE POLICE POWERS OF THE STATE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE CRIMES OF MURDER, ASSULT, AND ROBBERY REVEALS THAT RECENT INCREASES IN HOMICIDE AND ASSAULT MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION, ECONOMIC DISSATISFACTION, THE PRESENCE OF VIETNAM VETERANS WHO ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY ATTUNED TO THE USE OF WEAPONS, AND PERMISSIVE CHILD-REARING PRACTICES. FOUR TYPES OF ROBBERS AND IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED: THE PROFESSIONAL, THE OPPORTUNIST, THE ADDICT, AND THE ALCOHOLIC ROBBER. TO DISPEL THE MYTHS SURROUNDING RAPE, RAPISTS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR GROUPS BASED ON THE MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACT: RAPE-AGGRESSIVE AIM, RAPE--SEXUAL AIM, RAPE--SEX AGGRESSION-DIFFUSION, ANND RAPE--IMPULSIVE TYPE. VOYEURISM IS DISTINQUISHED FROM EXHIBITIONISM, AND RAPE--IMPULSIVE TYPE. VOYERURISM IS DISTINGUISHED FROM EXHIBITIONISM, AND PEDOPHILIA IS DISCUSSED, WITH ATTENTION TO THE ROLE CHILDREN MIGHT PLAY IN PRECIPITATING THEIR VICTIMIZATION. ALSO, TYPES OF PROPERTY OFFENDERS (ORDINARY CRIMINALS, OCCASIONAL CRIMINALS, PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS) AND PROPERTY OFFENSES (BURGLARY, FENCING OPERATIONS, AUTO THEFT, SHOPLIFTING, CON GAMES AND SWINDLES) ARE EXAMINED, AS WELL AS THE HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF ORGANIZED CRIME. ECONOMIC CRIMES, SPECIAL OFFENDERS (DRUG ADDICTS, PSYCHOTICS, ALCOHOLICS, JUVENILES, AND WOMEN), THEORIES OF CRIMINALITY, VICTIMOLOGY, AND THE ECONOMIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF CRIME ARE ALSO BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. REFERENCES, TERMS, AND QUESTIONS ARE APPENDED TO EACH CHAPTER. CHARTS, TABULAR DATA, FOOTNOTES, AND AN INDEX BY SUBJECT AND NAME ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)