Crime and criminology Books

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Book SynopsisCrime data collected through the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the National Crime Victimisation Survey (NCVS) are used by Congress to inform policy decisions and allocate federal criminal justice funding to states. As such, it is important to understand how each program collects and reports crime data, and the limitations associated with the data. This book reviews (1) the history of the UCR, the NIBRS, and the NCVS; (2) the methods each program uses to collect crime data; and (3) the limitations of the data collected by each program. The book then compares the similarities and differences of UCR and NCVS data. It concludes by reviewing issues related to the NIBRS and the NCVS. The UCR represents the first effort to create a national, standardised measure of the incidence of crime. It was conceived as a way to measure the effectiveness of local law enforcement and to provide law enforcement with data that could be used to help fight crime. UCR data are now used extensively by researchers, government officials, and the media for research, policy, and planning purposes. The UCR also provides some of the most commonly cited crime statistics in the United States. The UCR reports offence and arrest data for 8 different Part I offences and arrest data for 21 different Part II offences. The NIBRS was developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to respond to the law enforcement community''s belief that the UCR needed to be updated to provide more in-depth data to meet the needs of law enforcement into the 21st century. The NIBRS collects data, including data on offence(s), offender(s), victim(s), arrestee(s), and any property involved in an offence, for 46 different Group A offences and 11 different Group B offences. Despite the more detailed crime data that the NIBRS can provide, nation-wide implementation of the program has been slow, for a variety of reasons, including cost considerations. The NCVS is the primary source of information on the characteristics of criminal victimisation, and on the number and types of crime not reported to law enforcement. The NCVS has four major objectives: (1) to develop detailed information about the victims and consequences of crime, (2) to estimate the number and types of crimes not reported to police, (3) to provide uniform measures of selected types of crimes, and (4) to permit comparisons over time and population type (e.g., urban, suburban, and rural). The NCVS asks respondents whether they have been the victim of rape and sexual assault, robbery, simple and aggravated assault, purse snatching/pick-pocketing, burglary, theft, or motor vehicle theft. In addition to collecting data on the number of victimisations, the NCVS gathers data on the details of each incident of victimisation.

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Book SynopsisCrime has moved yet another step forward in its unyielding progression through society. Now it is identity theft. Trying to combat both legal and illegal theft continues to occupy a large portion of the average citizen''s life. Identity theft or identity fraud generally involves "stealing" another person''s personal identifying information - such as Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, and mother''s maiden name - and then using the information to fraudulently establish credit, run up debt, or take over existing financial accounts. This book focuses on current breaches in the wall of privacy.

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Book SynopsisVirtually every crime gun in the United States starts off as a legal firearm, "according to then-Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) director Bradley Buckles. In a report, the ATF looked at how guns then "pass through the legitimate distribution system of federally licensed firearms dealers" before ending up in the hands of criminals. The ATF concluded, in part, that, "there is a large problem of diversion to the illegal market from licensed gun establishments". When a gun is recovered in a crime, the ATF can use the serial number on the gun to trace back to where it first left the legal market - tracing from the first sale of the firearm by an importer or manufacturer, to the wholesaler or retailer, to the first retail purchaser. In some cases, that first retail purchaser is the link between the legal and illegal markets. Looking at trace information, the ATF found that "a small group of dealers accounts for a disproportionately large number of crime gun traces". Over 85 percent of dealers in the U.S. had no crime guns traced to them at all in 1998, while about 1 percent of licensed firearm dealers accounted for 57 percent of traces that same year. The ATF also concluded that "sales volume alone cannot be said to account for the disproportionately large number of traces associated with those dealers". Gun control legislation is also analysed in this book.

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Book SynopsisA veteran police officer gives his thoughtful, balanced views on police shootings, racial profiling, community relations, and every other aspect of policing in Police Craft: What Cops Know About Crime, Community and Violence. Written by Adam Plantinga, the author of the acclaimed 400 Things Cops Know, Police Craft is a thought-provoking and revelatory examination of policing in America, as seen by a working police officer. Plantinga, a police officer for 17 years and a serving sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department, gives an inside view of the police officers job, from handling evidence and conducting interrogations to coping with danger, violence, and death. This book explores a wide range of topics related to police work, from the techniques of policing to the culture of the profession, the sociology of crime and criminals, and the psychological toll on police officers. Not hesitating to confront controversial issues, Plantinga presents a police officers views on police shootings, racial profiling, and relationships between police and the community -- and offers reasoned proposals on what the police and the public can do better. Hard-boiled, humorous, and compassionate, Plantinga wrestles with the complexities and contradictions of a job he loves in which he witnesses so much suffering. Transcending todays strident pro-cop/anti-cop rhetoric, Police Craft will give every reader a greater respect for the police and greater understanding of the job they do.

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Book SynopsisOur nation''s schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community. Ensuring safer schools requires establishing good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators. This book presents the most recent data available on school crime and student safety with information drawn from a variety of sources, including national surveys of students, teachers and principals.

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Book SynopsisWhite-collar crime is defined as the use of deception for illegal gain, normally involving breach of trust, and some concealment of the true nature of the activities. White-collar crime is also often defined as crime against property, involving the unlawful conversion of property belonging to another to one''s own personal use and benefit. Financial crime is profit-driven crime to gain access to and control over property that belonged to someone else. These individuals are wealthy, highly educated, socially connected, and typically employed by, and in legitimate organisations. This book presents information regarding white-collar crime, as well as indications of individual traits which categorise these types of criminals.

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Book SynopsisCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction. Individual human societies may each define crime and crimes differently. Crime has been constant in the history of mankind and is a pervasive phenomenon affecting all societies. This book presents current research in the study of crime including such topics as the role of police deception in interrogation and juror''s perceptions of these techniques; the link between personal victimisation and fear of crime; police effectiveness and crime rates; and juvenile offenders tried in adult criminal court.

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Book SynopsisShooting incidents such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 and the one at Aurora, CO, movie theatre in July 2012 have focused attention on federal policy issues in the law enforcement, public health, and education arenas. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has identified 78 public mass shootings that have occurred in the United States since 1983. These shootings have claimed almost 550 lives according to CRS estimates. Most gun owners buy their guns legally and use them safely, whether for self-defence, hunting, or sport shooting. Yet too often, irresponsible and dangerous individuals have been able to easily get their hands on firearms. Efforts must be strengthened to keep guns from falling into the wrong hands. This book focuses on mass shootings and gun violence in America with select implications they have for federal policy in the areas of public health and safety. While such crimes most directly impact particular citizens in very specific communities, addressing these violent episodes involves officials at all levels of government and professionals from numerous disciplines.

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Book SynopsisThe overall number of inmates in the Bureau of Prisons'' (BOP) three main types of segregated housing units, Special Housing Units (SHU), Special Management Units (SMU), and Administrative Maximum (ADX), increased at a faster rate than the general inmate population. Inmates may be placed in SHUs for administrative reasons, such as pending transfer to another prison, and for disciplinary reasons, such as violating prison rules; SMUs, a four-phased program in which inmates can progress from more to less restrictive conditions; or ADX, for inmates that require the highest level of security. From fiscal year 2008 to February 2013, the total inmate population in segregated housing units increased approximately 17 percent, from 10,659 to 12,460 inmates. By comparison, the total inmate population in BOP facilities increased by about 6 percent during this period. This book examines the trends in the BOP''s segregated housing population; the extent to which the BOP centrally monitors how prisons apply segregated housing policies; and the impact segregated housing has on institutionalised safety and inmates.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the issues of crime, aging and criminal justice and their relationship to pensions, prisons, offenders, and victimisation. The book is original in that it explores such key issues from the social domain of "aging". This book begins by exploring the relationship of crime, criminal justice and trust an essential context that is situated that can provide key conceptual insights into the key issues in crime and criminal justice. The book then moves to assess the main issues of crime. These are associated with understanding pensions, on the one hand, and imprisonment for older people, on the other hand. The book focuses its gaze upon older people as offenders and victims.

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Book SynopsisIn 200912, 68% of victims of serious violent crime -- rape or sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault -- reported experiencing socio-emotional problems as a result of their victimisation. Victims who experienced severe distress as a result of a violent victimisation were more likely to report the crime to police and receive victim services than victims with no distress or mild distress. This book discusses select reports from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on the measures of violent crimes including firearm violence, homicide, and nonfatal domestic violence. It also examines the socio-emotional impact violent crimes have on individuals.

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Book SynopsisIdentity theft tax refund fraud is a persistent, evolving threat to honest taxpayers and tax administration. It occurs when an identity thief files a fraudulent tax return using a legitimate taxpayer''s identifying information and claims a refund. This book examines what IRS knows about the extent of IDT refund fraud and additional actions IRS can take to combat IDT refund fraud using third-party information from, for example, employers and financial institutions. The book also assesses the quality of IRS''s IDT refund fraud cost estimates, and IRS''s progress in developing processes to enhance taxpayer authentication

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Book SynopsisThe 2015 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in calendar year 2014. Volume I covers drug and chemical control activities. Volume II covers money laundering and financial crimes.

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Book SynopsisWhy do we need to focus on crime and violence prevention in children, adolescents and young adults? Because it is vital to start when offending behaviours first appear. If we fail to stop initial acts of antisocial tendencies and criminality, then these actions become the staging point for a life-long trajectory into adult crime. Breaking the offending cycle during its early stages is one of the most cost effective ways of building a less violent and crime-ridden future society. The reader might well ask: "How is it possible to break the offending cycle and reduce crime on a local, national and international scale?" The well-worn response has oscillated between the introduction of punitive harsher penalties'' and offender rehabilitation program initiatives. The choice of which of these two approaches holds sway depends on the political agenda of the government in power. Whilst various aspects of each approach have been successful in deterring crime and violence to some extent, they have not been successful enough, as crime and violence perpetration remains a perplexing social issue. What emanates out of the presented research is the emergence of a third global values-driven educative approach to crime and violence prevention, which is slowly beginning to be implemented. This third approach works by challenging and changing the existing pervasive belief that crime and violence are inevitable. The exciting prospect for governments, police, and criminologists is that it is not prohibitively expensive; it complements the existing punitive and rehabilitative approaches, and it is implementable on an offender-by-offender, family-by-family, community-by-community and society-by-society basis. In this regard, examples of current crime and violence prevention initiatives are presented. The book deems which ones are and are not effective in reducing offenses, as well as introduces the steps being considered to introduce a global values-driven educative approach to crime and violence prevention.

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Book SynopsisIn addition to being one of the few books offering a conservative viewpoint on race and crime, this book differs from others about race and crime in a number of ways. Although concepts, data, and explanations are dispersed throughout, it is divided into three broad categories: Conceptual, Statistical Data, and Explanation. The first concept it looks at is the different mindsets and temperaments of liberals and conservatives that have been noted ever since Plato and Aristotle. It has been consistently shown that liberals and conservatives typically differ in their loci of control: external and internal, respectively. Differences in the locus of control lead to quite different interpretations of raw data. It then looks at the concept of race and whether or not it exists. This issue is examined in two chapters; the first in terms of molecular genetics, and the second in terms of evolutionary theory. Then, the concepts of racism and poverty are addressed. Criminological statistical data is analysed and crime is examined in a cross-cultural context. Explanations for the crime data are proposed.

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Book Synopsis'Unputdownable... Helen Sedgwick saw into the future and that future is now! It's an incredible book! READ IT.' Lemn Sissay on When the Dead Come Calling Gone but not forgotten... An archaeological dig exposes a brutal history and a witness finally speaks. It seems the wickedness swirling in the harsh sea air of Burrowhead might be excised at last. But before DI Georgie Strachan can lift the veil of evil, a black horse is slaughtered on an altar in the woods and human remains begin to surface. Sinister rituals connect past and present but no one wants to see, or tell, or hear, the truth. Soon Georgie must face the question: where do the missing souls of the village gather?Trade Review‘Another triumph. A masterful blend of crime and psychological suspense, with a hint of the supernatural for added chill... An immersive, haunting read.’ -- Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of Emily Noble's Disgrace‘Those who loved When the Dead Come Calling… will enjoy getting reacquainted with DI Georgie Strachan.’ -- Herald, 25 of the best summer books‘Sedgwick’s writing is evocative and compassionate and always draws us back… For a novel which has its roots in the ancient past, Where the Missing Gather is a sharply observed story for these anxious, post-Brexit times.’ -- Scotland on Sunday‘[Sedgwick] sustains a suspenseful atmosphere of psychological and supernatural unease that will have you glancing nervously over your shoulder.’ -- Herald‘[Sedgwick] explores sinister rituals and missing souls in this unputdownable crime novel.’ -- Scottish Book TrustPraise for When the Dead Come Calling: ‘Unputdownable... Helen Sedgwick saw into the future and that future is now! It's an incredible book! READ IT.’ Lemn Sissay, author of My Name Is Why ‘Helen Sedgwick is one of Scotland's finest contemporary storytellers.’ Claire Askew, author of All the Hidden Truths ‘Sedgwick’s writing is minutely observational, clever and warm.’ Scotsman

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Book SynopsisWith chapters by leading scholars of criminology from across the country, The Aotearoa Handbook of Criminology represents a state-of-the-art account of crime and criminal justice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The handbook is structured into four parts that explore the politics of researching and representing crime, key types of crime, the workings of criminal justice, and the differential experiences of crime and justice. The handbook outlines the foundations of current approaches to crime, victims and offenders alongside critical, decolonising, and feminist perspectives on criminological ideas and practices. Fully referenced and with study questions and further reading, The Aotearoa Handbook of Criminology will be a critical resource to New Zealand students and practitioners. It will also help propel future improvements to how we define crime, how we prevent it, and how we can respond in much better ways to those who are victimised by crimes and wider harms.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Criminological Transformations Part One: Crime Knowledge, Crime Politics 2. Representing Crime: Shaping Understandings, Building Hegemony 3. Counting Crime and Victims: The Case of 'Volume Crime' 4. Researching Crime and Criminal Justice: Funding, Politics, and Ethics Part Two: Crimes 5. Crimes of Intoxication: Unsettling the Alcohol/Drugs-Crime Link 6. Sexual Violence: The Logic of Patriarchy 7. Responding to Intimate Partner Violence: Connecting Law, Language, and Supports 8. Cybercrime and Cyber-Harm: Exploring Young People's Sharing of Intimate Images 9. Hate Crimes, Racism and Islamophobia: 'This Is Exactly Who We Are' 10. Environmental Harm: Clean and Green, or Brutal and Contaminated? 11. White-Collar Crimes: Culpability, Causes, and Control 12. Ignoring State-corporate Crimes: The Case of the Pike River Mine Disaster Part Three: Criminal Justice 13. Penal Populism: Its Life and Death 14. Policing: Past, Present and Future 15. Crime Prevention: Exploring Conventional Practices 16. Nga Kooti o Aotearoa / New Zealand Courts: Building Maori-focused Approaches, Developing Therapeutic Justice 17. Sentencing: From Parity to Problem-solving 18. The Youth Justice System: A Site of Evolution and Reform 19. Community Sentences: Expanding a System of Control and Surveillance? 20. Restorative Justice: The 'Land of the Long White Lie' 21. Hyper-incarceration: Inequality and Imprisonment 22. Rehabilitation: Risks, Needs, and Building Good Lives 23. (Re)integration: Recentring Strengths in Communities 24. Prison Abolitionism: Philosophies, Politics, and Practices Part Four: Differential Experiences 25. Victimology: From Criminality to 'Victimity' and the Problem of Victim Blame 26. Police Racism: The Responsibilities of Police Leadership 27. Rangatahi Maori, Samoan Talavou, and Youth Justice: Challenging the Monoculture through Decolonising Practices 28. Mental Health and Crime: A Critical Review 29. Neuro-disabilities and Criminal Justice: Time for a Radical Rethink 30. Gangs: The Politics and Political Management of the 'Gang Problem' 31. Decriminalising Crimes: The Case of Sex Work 32. Deportations: Sorting Citizens across Borders Contributors Index

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