Sociological Aspects Of Crime And Delinquency

The field of crime and delinquency attracts a great deal of heated and partial opinion, prejudice and other forms of mal-thinking. When there is a scientific approach there tends to be a psychological explanation. This book, first published in 1971, is a corrective to both trends. It is a discussion of criminal behaviour in relation to a wide range of behaviours which could be called deviance and regards the whole field from the sociological point of view. The whole discussion is related to social policy, and is vital reading for students of sociology and criminology.

Originally published in 1940. This ground-breaking work formed the foundation for modern criminology becoming an academic discipline within UK sociological studies. It concerns the history of crime, its causes and treatment in England during the preceding twenty-five years or so. Mannheim, through this and later studies, went on to found the criminology department at LSE. The book offers an evaluation of the criminological implications of the War and early post-War period as well as an examination of the practical working of the new penal machinery built up by the Reform Acts passed just prior to the War. The author produced a scientific account of the post-War state of crime, beginning with a critical examination of the structure and interpretation of English Criminal Statistics followed by a survey of the principal criminological features of the period between the two Wars. Significant aspects are dealt with in a separate chapters - four devoted to problems of work and leisure (Unemployment and Strikes, Business Administration, Alcoholism, and Gambling), four others to those of certain specific sections of the population (Juvenile Delinquency, Female Delinquency and Prostitution, Recidivism). This is a fascinating read for both the historian and the criminologist.

The field of crime and delinquency attracts a great deal of heated and partial opinion, prejudice and other forms of mal-thinking. When there is a scientific approach there tends to be a psychological explanation. This book, first published in 1971, is a corrective to both trends. It is a discussion of criminal behaviour in relation to a wide range of behaviours which could be called deviance and regards the whole field from the sociological point of view. The whole discussion is related to social policy, and is vital reading for students of sociology and criminology.

The systematic application of behavioral psychology to crime and delinquency was begun only 20 years ago, yet it has already contributed significantly to our practical knowledge about prevention and correction and to our general under standing of a pressing social problem. In this handbook, we review and evalu ate what has been accomplished to date, as well as what is currently at the leading edge of the field. We do so in order to present a clear, comprehensive, and systematic view of the field and to promote and encourage still more effective action and social policy reform in the future. The chapters in this text have been written by professionals who were among the original innovators in applying behavioral psychology to crime and delinquency and who continue to make critical contributions to the field's progress, and by a new generation of energetic, young professionals who are taking the field in important and innovative directions. The contributors have attempted to review and evaluate their areas with critical dispassion, to pro vide thorough but not overly specialized discussion of their material, and to draw implications for how research, application, and social policy might be improved in the future. For our part as editors, we have tried to foster integra tion across the chapters and to provide background and conceptual material of our own.