1st Edition

The Study of Violent Crime Its Correlates and Concerns

By Scott Mire, Cliff Roberson Copyright 2011
    244 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Violence is a complex subject that is rooted in a multitude of disciplines, including not only criminology but also psychology, sociology, biology, and other social science disciplines. It is only through understanding violence as a concept that we can hope to respond to it appropriately and to prevent it. The Study of Violent Crime: Its Correlates and Concerns is a comprehensive text that provides a current analysis of violence and violent crime in the United States.

    Topics discussed include:

    • The history of violence in Europe and America
    • Whether violent behavior can be predicted
    • Possible correlates of violence, including values, poverty, low education, abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse, and shame
    • Sociological theories surrounding crime causation, including social control, conflict and strain, and anomie
    • Psychological approaches to understanding violence from Freud, Bentham, Skinner, and others
    • Biological theories and the influence of positivism and determinism
    • The role of early exposure to violence on future behavior and programs to counteract these effects
    • Gang activity and hate crimes
    • The history of punishment and its effectiveness
    • Victimology and victimization

    Organized in logical fashion, each chapter builds on previous ones and makes use of concrete examples to clarify concepts. Action boxes help readers focus on salient points and review questions appear at the end of each chapter, enabling readers to test their assimilation of the material.

    Introduction to the Study of Violence
    Defining Violence
    Types of Violence
    Methods of Violence
    Violence Prevention Initiative
    Cost of Violence
    Trends in Violence
    Historical Trends in Europe
    Historical Trends in America
    Theoretical Postulations Concerning Changing Rates of Violence
    Predicting Violence
    Correlates of Violence
    Poverty and Violence
    Alcohol Abuse and Violence
    Abuse and Neglect Effect on Violence
    Education and Violence
    Sociological Aspects of Violence
    Social Controls
    Strain Theory and Violence
    Control Theories and Violence
    Cultural Conflict
    Subculture of Violence
    Differential Association
    Psychological/Psychiatric Approaches to Understanding Violence
    Nature of Violent Behavior
    Cesare Beccaria
    Utilitarianism
    Psychiatric Explanations of Violence
    Psychoanalytic Approaches
    Emotional Problem Theories
    Mental Disorders
    Behavior and Social Learning Theories
    Thinking Pattern Theories
    Substance Abuse as a Cause of Violence
    Intergenerational Transmission of Violence
    Biological Factors and Violence
    Positivist Approach to Violence
    Biological Approaches to Violence Causation
    Exposure to Violence
    Juveniles as Victims or Criminals
    Media Violence
    Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention Project
    Gang Resistance Education and Training Program
    Safe Start Centers
    Teen Action Partnership
    Child Sexual Abuse
    Extremely Violent Video Games
    Violent Crimes
    Murder
    Voluntary Manslaughter
    Involuntary Manslaughter
    Negligent Manslaughter
    Robbery
    Sex Offenses
    Assaultive Crimes
    Gangs and Violence
    Acts of Violence by Gangs
    Regional Trends in Gangs
    Characteristics of Gangs
    Prison Gangs
    Female Gangs
    Hate Crimes
    Examples of Hate Crimes
    Issues in Collecting Data on Hate Crimes
    National Hate Crime Statistics
    Legal Aspects of Hate Crimes
    Identifying Hate Crimes
    Typology of Offenders
    Shame and Violence
    What Is Shame?
    Shame and Empathy
    How Shame Is Related to the Correlates in Chapter 3
    Controlling Violence by the Use of Punishment
    Beginning of Legal Punishments
    Justification of Punishment
    Purposes of Punishment
    Victimology and Violence
    Code of Hammurabi
    Victimization
    Appendix: Bibliography of Youth Violence Studies
    Index

    Biography

    Cliff Roberson LLM, Ph.D is editor-in-chief of Professional Issues in Criminal Justice Journal and is academic chair for the Master of Science in Criminal Justice Program, Kaplan University. He is also an emeritus professor of criminal justice at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas. In 2009, a research study conducted by a group of professors from Sam Houston State University determined that Roberson was the leading criminal justice author in the United States based on his publications and their relevance to the profession [See Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 6, issue 1, 2009]. He has authored or coauthored more than 50 books and texts on legal subjects.

    Dr. Scott Mire has been an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette since August of 2005. Prior to this, Dr. Mire spent several years in law enforcement. He served as a police officer and narcotics agent with the Lafayette, Louisiana Police Department and then worked for the United States Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas. He worked for the Texas Police Corps as a training coordinator while pursuing a Ph.D. in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University. Dr. Mire has authored or coauthored several journal articles and book chapters including two text books in the areas of correctional counseling and ethics in criminal justice.

    " … provides a comprehensive discussion of violence and violent crime in the United States. … The authors are veteran criminal justice academics."
    —Joshua Sinai, Perspectives on Terrorism