Criminology and Public Policy: Putting Theory to Work

by Hugh Barlow, Scott H. Decker

Overview

Crime policy ought to be guided by science rather than ideology, argue Hugh Barlow and Scott Decker in this incisive and original collection of essays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439900079
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	01/08/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Hugh D. Barlow is Professor Emeritus, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is the author of Dead for Good: Martyrdom and the Rise of the Suicide Bomber and Introduction to Criminology (with David Kauzlarich).

Scott H. Decker is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University.  He is the author of Life in the Gang: Family, Friends and Violence and co-author (with Margaret Townsend Chapman) of Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling: Lessons from the Inside (Temple).

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Francis T. Cullen 
Preface

Part One. The Policy Implications of General Theories of Crime 
Introduction to Part 1: Putting Criminological Theory into Practice 
1. Control Balance Theory and Social Policy 
2. Controlling Crime: Recommendations from General Strain Theory 
3. The Normal Crime Rate, the Economy, and Mass Incarceration: An Institutional-Anomie Perspective on Crime-Control Policy 
4. A General Theory of Crime and Public Policy 
5. Nothing Is as Practical as a Good Theory: Social Learning and the Treatment and Prevention of Delinquency 
6. Routine Precautions, Criminology, and Crime Prevention

Part Two. The Policy Implications of Theory Applied to Specific Crime Types 
Introduction to Part II: Impact of Theory and Policy on Key Criminological Issues 
7. Decision Making by Persistent Thieves and Crime Control Policy 
8. Theories of Gang Behavior and Public Policy 
9. State Crime Theory and Control 
10. Theories of White-Collar Crime and Public Policy 
11. Drug Law and Violent Retaliation 
12. Feminist Criminology: Beyond the Slaying of Demons 
13. Critical Race Perspectives: Explaining the Differential Treatment of Racial Minorities by the Criminal Justice System 
14. Problem Solving Restorative Justice: From Incidents and Cases to Community Building and Collective Outcomes in a New Response to Youth Crime

Contributors 
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This well-edited, highly readable book clearly demonstrates how criminological theory can, and does, contribute to policy solutions. Prominent scholars provide succinct summaries of current theories and innovative policy implications for crimes ranging from state crime to street crime. Criminology and public policy students should read this book, as should policy makers and criminal justice professionals." —Margaret A. Zahn, Professor of Sociology, North Carolina State University, and past president of the American Society of Criminology

From the Publisher