History And Crime

Using analytic tools adopted from social science -- comparative analysis, time series analysis, and other techniques -- historical analysis of crime offers insights relevant to today's problems. '...policy makers...should read and ponder the thirteen essays in History and Crime. They just might obtain sufficient insight about crime within a historical context and about past criminal sanctions to persuade them of the futility of coercive measures without an understanding of the causes of crime...History and Crime belongs in every library and in every classroom in which social history is taught.' -- History, January 1982

"How were popular attitudes toward death and life revealed in the illegal seventeenth-century practice of baptizing dead babies? What can be learned about the nature of government and economy in early modern Genoa by studying the methods of Renaissance counterfeiters? Why were certain forms of magic and witchcraft redefined by the Enlightenment as murder? In the latest volume of Selections from Quaderni Storici, Edward Muir and Guido Ruggiero bring together a distinguished group of scholars to explore the social and political history of early modern Italy through the study of criminal records. Like other volumes in the series, History from Crime demonstrates how a sophisticated analysis of documents once thought beneath scholarly notice can offer stunning new insights into the past. The authors show, for example, how the practice of keeping concubines by priests in early modern Siena reveals the contours of religious and social perceptions of the time. An analysis of the dynamics of rural feuds helps redefine the structures of power in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And a new look at the political values and norms of Renaissance Florence is provided by an examination of selected cases of political corruption." --

Victor Hugo wrote this work whilst in exile for taking part in the events herein described. His story is thrillingly told. The world for the first time gets all the details of the coup d' état by which Louis Napoleon became emperor of France. The book reads like a novel, and yet its action only goes over two days and is all strictly historical. Its publication caused a great excitement in Paris that October, and probably prevented a similar attack upon the liberties of France and the Republic. At all events, it was this fear which caused Victor Hugo to make his testimony public; for he said, "This work is more than opportune; it is imperative. I publish it."

Thirteen legal history scholars study crime in Western Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand from approximately 1400 through the 1800s. The essays discuss topics such as: the historiography of crime; gender and class; punishment systems; the Italian mafioso; the urban police in the US; and Mexican bandits. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

This lively and accessible text provides an introduction to the history of crime and crime control. It explains the historical background that is essential for an understanding of contemporary criminal justice, and examines the historical context for contemporary criminological debates. Topics covered include: Crime statistics Constructions of criminality Policing Prisons Surveillance Governance White-collar crime Immigration and crime For each topic, the book provides an overview of current research, comment on current arguments and links to wider debates. The Key Approaches to Criminology series celebrates the removal of traditional barriers between disciplines and, specifically, reflects criminology’s interdisciplinary nature and focus. It brings together some of the leading scholars working at the intersections of criminology and related subjects. Each book in the series helps readers to make intellectual connections between criminology and other discourses, and to understand the importance of studying crime and criminal justice within the context of broader debates. The series is intended to have appeal across the entire range of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond, comprising books which offer introductions to the fields as well as advancing ideas and knowledge in their subject areas.

Several encyclopedias overview the contemporary system of criminal justice in America, but full understanding of current social problems and contemporary strategies to deal with them can come only with clear appreciation of the historical underpinnings of those problems. Thus, this five-volume work surveys the history and philosophy of crime, punishment, and criminal justice institutions in America from colonial times to the present. It covers the whole of the criminal justice system, from crimes, law enforcement and policing, to courts, corrections and human services. Among other things, this encyclopedia: explicates philosophical foundations underpinning our system of justice; charts changing patterns in criminal activity and subsequent effects on legal responses; identifies major periods in the development of our system of criminal justice; and explores in the first four volumes - supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents - evolving debates and conflicts on how best to address issues of crime and punishment. Its signed entries in the first four volumes--supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents--provide the historical context for students to better understand contemporary criminological debates and the contemporary shape of the U.S. system of law and justice.

Crime is a political football - both left and right are terrified of seeming soft on the issue, but for all their efforts, or apparent efforts, crime rates continue to rise. Clearly something needs to be done. But what? Peter Hitchens argues that the time has come to re-examine the criminal justice system root and branch - to cope with rising levels of violent crime, and to restore public faith in society's ability to defend itself. Whatever you think of the solutions Hitchens suggests to this problem, you can be sure that they will excite controversy.

Revealing the cross utility potential of multiple disciplines to advance knowledge in crime studies, History & Crime showcases new research into crime from across the interdisciplinary perspectives of early modern and modern history, criminology, forensic psychology, and legal studies.