Career Criminals in Society

by Matt DeLisi

Overview

More than a century of scientific research has indicated that the majority of crime that occurs in society is committed by a small percentage of the population, meaning that most criminals are repeat offenders, or "career criminals." If societies devoted considerable resources toward preventing and neutralizing career criminals, there would be dramatic reductions in crime, the fear of crime, and the assorted costs and collateral consequences of crime.

Career Criminals in Society examines the small but dangerous group of repeat offenders who are most damaging to society. The book encourages readers to think critically about the causes of criminal behavior and the potential of the criminal justice system to reduce crime. Author Matt DeLisi draws upon his own practitioner experience, interviewing criminal defendants to argue that career criminals can be combated only with a combination of prevention efforts and retributive criminal justice system policies.

Key Features

• Uses an engaging writing style to provide a comprehensive overview of career criminals
• Provides chapter-opening vignettes developed from real criminal cases
• Examines various crime prevention strategies to neutralize criminal careers
• Explores the international relevance of career criminals
• Draws upon research from the fields of criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, and human development

With its controversial, thought-provoking style, Career Criminals in Society is sure to advance theory and research on chronic offenders and inspire discussions on how to adequately control crime. It is an excellent supplementary textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses on criminology, criminal behavior, crime typologies, deviant behavior, and crime control and prevention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452235950
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	02/15/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	455 KB

About the Author

Matt DeLisi is College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor, Coordinator of Criminal Justice Studies, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University. A renowned scholar, Professor DeLisi is one of the most influential and prolific criminologists in the world with over 400 scholarly publications on an array of topics in the social, behavioral, and forensic sciences. In 2012, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for distinguished teaching and research achievement. In 2019, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science. He is the only scientist in the world who is a Fellow of both organizations. Although he publishes in multiple content areas, Professor DeLisi is most famous for his research on serious, chronic, violent, and pathological offenders. He has provided expert services and consultation on capital murder and multiple-homicide offender cases in multiple federal and state jurisdictions. In 2013, Professor DeLisi testified to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and consulted on criminal justice policy to a variety of federal stakeholders including the United States Attorney General, National Institute of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. Since 2014, Dr. DeLisi has served as a research specialist with United States Probation and Pretrial Services and engaged with scores of practitioners in the federal judiciary and correctional spheres. Prior to entering academia, Dr. DeLisi worked as a pretrial services officer for five years.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction, Two Glimpses at the Career Criminal
The Life of Crime
Overview of the Book
Practitioner Approach
Summary
Chapter 2. The Empirical Evidence of Career Criminals
Introduction
Historical Background of Career Criminals
Biographies and Typological Studies
The Modern Criminal Career Paradigm
International Contributions
Career Criminal Characteristics
Summary: The Universality of Career Criminals
Endnotes
Chapter 3. Developmental Theory and Its Application
Overview of Developmental Theory
Patterson′s Coercion Theory
Moffitt′s Developmental Taxonomy
Sampson and Laub′s Age-graded Theory of Informal Social Control and Cumulative Disadvantage
Thornberry′s Interactional Theory
Social Development Model
Developmental Theory in Action: A Review of Some Successful Prevention Policies
Strategies that Help to Forestall Career Criminality
Summary
Endnotes
Chapter 4. The Challenges Posed by Propensity Theory
Overview of Propensity Theories as they relate to Career Criminals
The Implicit and Explicit Role of Psychopathological Conditions
Wilson and Herrnstein′s Crime and Human Nature
Gottfredson and Hirschi′s A General Theory of Crime
The Gottfredson and Hirschi Critiques
Theoretical Challenges and Summary Issues
Conclusion
Endnotes
Chapter 5. The Politics of Career Criminals
Introduction
The Ethical Quandaries of Prediction
Media Portrayals of Career Criminals
The Criminological Significance of Career Criminals
The Sympathetic Life of Career Criminals
The Mercurial Criminal Justice System
Academics and Career Criminals
Constructing the Career Criminal
Conclusion
Endnotes
Chapter 6. The Criminal Justice System and Career Criminals
Introduction and Overview
The Police and Career Criminals
The Courts and Career Criminals
Corrections and Career Criminals
Capital Punishment and Career Criminals
Endnotes
Chapter 7. Conclusion, Do We Have the Will to Stop Career Criminals?
Overview
Prevention and the Conservative Compromise
Retributive Justice and the Liberal Compromise
Conclusion
Endnotes
References