An Introduction to Crime and Crime Causation

An Introduction to Crime and Crime Causation is a student-friendly textbook that defines and explains the concepts of crime, criminal law, and criminology. Ideal for a one-semester course, the book compares and contrasts early criminal behavior and today s modern forms of crime. It also explores society s responses to criminal behavior in the past and in the present day. It covers both major and lesser-known crime causation theories and their impact on society.

Topics covered include:

• The importance of understanding crime data
• The goals of punishment
• The history of criminology, including the influence of social Darwinism on early trait theorists
• Crime causation theories, including a comparison of mainstream and critical theories
• The relationship between crime and biology, including the influence of genetics, substance use, and mental illness
• The social structural approach to crime, including a consideration of the changing contexts of urban criminality
• The nature and function of the justice system at the local, state, and federal levels, and basic categories of crimes
• Drug trafficking crimes, drug court efforts, and perceived weaknesses in current antidrug efforts

Each chapter begins with a set of objectives and concludes with a summary. Interactive questions promote classroom discussion and practicum sections facilitate contextual learning. Drawn from different and distinct backgrounds, the authors each have unique perspectives on crime, making for a particularly well-rounded text that explores crime from several angles. The book attempts to educate readers in the development of new insights on crime and crime causation and provides a greater understanding of the steps that need to be taken before a significant reduction in crime can occur.