NCJ Number
17774
Date Published
1970
Length
774 pages
Annotation
A SOCIOLOGICALLY - ORIENTED TEXTBOOK DEALING WITH THE ORIGINS, MANIFESTATIONS AND REMEDIES FOR CRIME AND DELINQUENCY.
Abstract
IN PART ONE, SUBTITLED 'CRIME, CRIMINOLOGY, AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY', THE READER IS INTRODUCED TO THE CONTEXT OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE, THE RELATIONSHIP OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL LAW, STATISTICS CONCERNING THE PERVALENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME, AND THE CRIMINOLOGICAL APPROACH TO DEVIANCE ANALYSIS. IN PART TWO, 'DIFFERENTIAL CRIMINAL EXPRESSIONS', HE REVIEWS THE SCOPE OF PROPERTY CRIMES AND THEIR PARTICIPANTS, CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE PERSON, THE CONTEXT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, SPECIAL FORMS OF FEMALE CRIMINALITY, AND ORGANIZED AND WHITE-COLLAR CRIME. PART THREE DEALS WITH HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PHYSIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL, AND SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF CRIME CAUSATION IN A SERIES OF FOUR CHAPTERS. THE LAST OF THESE INTRODUCES THE STUDENT OF CRIMINOLOGY TO THE GENERAL THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF TALCOTT PARSONS, ROBERT MERTON, GEORGE HOMANS, AND LEON FESTINGER, AND PRESENTS THE AUTHOR'S MIDDLE-RANGE THEORY OF RELATIVITY, A NEW CONCEPTUAL EXPLANATION OF DELINQUENCY AND CRIME CAUSATION. CONTRARY TO THE MANY AD HOC THEORIES OF THE PAST, THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY INTEGRATES KNOWN CRIMINOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN A MANNER THAT REVEALS THE COMPLEXITY OF CRIMINAL AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF CULTURAL, SOCIAL, SMALL GROUP, AND PERSONALITY FACTORS TO SUCH FORMS OF DEVIANCE. PART FOUR, FOCUSING ON THE 'FORMAL SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL CONTROL' PROBES THE SYSTEM OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE ROLES OF THE PROSECUTING AND DEFENSE ATTORNIES. PART FIVE, ON THE OTHER HAND, EXAMINES THE MULTIPLE FACETS OF THE SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE JUVENILE COURT, THE ADULT CRIMINAL COURT, THE MILITARY TRIBUNAL, AND THE APPELLATE AND SUPREME COURTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF DELINQUENCY AND CRIME PROBLEMS ARE REVIEWED. IN PART SIX ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE SYSTEM OF SENTENCING AND PROBATION, AND THE NATURE AND OPERATIONS OF JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS, THE VARIOUS APPROACHES TO THE IMPRISONMENT OF ADULTS, AND THE INEVITABLE QUESTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY. PART SEVEN EXAMINES THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OFFENDER'S RETURN TO RECIDIVISM, AND THE ISSUES OF DELINQUENCY AND CRIME PREDICTION. PART EIGHT CLOSES THE VOLUME WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE PREVENTION OF DELINQUENT AND CRIMINAL CONDUCT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)