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Reflections on crime: An introduction to criminology and criminal justice
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
The book consists of seventeen chapters organized in three sections. Part I provides an overview of basic prerequisites, techniques, and methodology for general criminal investigation. Sources of information are identified and evaluated, and the use of physical evidence and laboratory resources in criminal investigation is discussed. Part II provides investigation standards for more specific crimes such as homicide, rape, sexual assault, child abuse. robbery, burglary, vehicle theft, and other types of theft. Standards for narcotics and vice control and for operation of an intelligence system are also set forth. Special attention is given to one of the most critical and sensitive areas of the investigative process-the use of informants. The third section discusses arson, bombing, and hostage negotiation. It also provides suggestions for the preparation of court cases. The final topic examined is the role of the investigator in team policing; particular attention is given to the relationship between the uniformed officer and the criminal investigator. Several appendixes and tables containing detailed data are interspersed throughout the text. Each chapter contains a list of references and recommended readings. (MV)
Crime and Criminalization, Clayton A. Hartjen.
Second Edition.
by
Holt Rinehart and Winston, Publishers (CBS Inc., 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017) 1978, 259 pp., softcover-$5.95. This book, written by a social scientist from a “conflict-labeling perspective,” presents the unique view that individuals are labeled criminal as a result of going against widely held beliefs of those who compose the laws that establish the criminal justice system. Crime is described as being “whatever it is that criminally defined persons do.” He further states that being labeled a criminal isn’t solely a matter of the legality or illegality of a person’s behavior “but is also a judgment of the moral makeup of the accused. Criminal law stems from conflicts of interest among the various subgroups making up society. Criminals threaten those interests protected by law. It is not so much what a person does as what kind of person he or she is that affects labeling. If
ABSTRACTS
337
one is black, poor, migrant, or uneducated, the chance of being defined as a criminal is greatly increased. So, being labeled a criminal is “no more than a symbolic evaluation of a person’s character, not of the individual’s behavior.” The courts fare no better in the author’s judgment: “The court functions confirm the reality of which its very existence is a reflection.” Individuals coming before the courts are placed into the “categoric stereotypes” of “respectables” and criminals. The respectables are “quickly discharged” and the criminals are “rapidly processed.” “The system is simply not designed to dispense ‘justice.’ It is designed to get ‘results.’ ” It’s somewhat of a self-perpetuating system. Criminals exist to be processed by the system. The system “validates the kind of world its very presence presupposes.” The author challenges crime statistics by stating that “the relationship between the occurrence of criminal acts and the recording of such unofficial courts are by no means directly related.” “Volume is a function of what gets recorded.” Activity that is considered “worthy of criminal repression” gets recorded in crime statistics. Hartjen considers the growth of disciplines that are studying the crime problem and their self-justification. “Crime has been defined in recent years as a major social problem that requires the special expertise of criminologists to remedy, a definition that has become increasingly dominant as criminology has grown in size and prestige.” Extensive references and an index are included. (LP)
Reflections on Crime: An Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice by James A. Inciardi. Holt, Reinhart, and Winston (CBS Inc., 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1978, 214 pp., $6.50. While criminology and criminal justice have traditionally been viewed as two distinctly separate disciplines, they approach essentially the same subject matter+rime and criminals. This book. which is based on the premise that one cannot fully understand one discipline without having some understanding of the other, serves as an introduction to both criminology and criminal
338
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
justice. It attempts to provide the student of both disciplines with a simple introduction to the issues and concepts that relate to the study of crime and offenders. Six chapters discuss broad aspects of crime in America. After an introductory discussion of theories of crime and criminals, some historical perspectives of crime in America are presented. Crime and vice are traced from their beginnings in Puritan society to the twentieth-century race riots and Mafia activities. Following the historical discussion is an assessment of the extent of crime in the United States. Various statistical charts indicate trends in specific crimes for the major metropolitan areas during the early to mid 1970s. Presented next is a review of theories on the causes of crime. Early theories such as demonology, physiognomy, and phrenology are examined, as well as biological determinism, electric theories, and psychogenic approaches. As an alternative to causal theories, another approach to the study of crime focuses on behavior systems in crime and attempts to apply knowledge from a specific crime and criminal to trends, patterns. and behavior systems in crime. This chapter discusses behavior patterns commonly found in cases of homicide. assault, rape. property offenses, vocational crime. and whitecollar crime. The final chapter of the book examines the emergence of both the criminal justice system and criminal justice concepts. Special attention is given to the processes involved in the criminal justice system, which are illustrated in a simplified chart. Following each chapter is a list of suggested readings. References for each chapter are aggregated at the end of the chapter. and some chapters include notes. The book is thoroughly indexed. (MV)
Police and Policing, An Introduction
by Richard J.
Lundman. Holt. Rinehart and Winston (383 Madison Avenue. New York 10017), 1980. 215 pp.. softcover-$8.95. Most through
people interact with the police traffic violations. This, combined
only with
ABSTRACTS
the Hollywood image of chases, fights, and almost indiscriminate weapon use, has given the public a distorted view of the police. The author. a sociology professor, urges. a multidisciplinary approach for a better and more accurate understanding of the police and policing. He includes aspects of criminal justice. political science, criminology, public administration, psychology, and history in developing his subject. The first use of police organizations occurred in the United States in the mid-1800s. Although these were a consequence of a growth in urban crime, the public was hesitant, at first. to allow them. It saw organized police as an intrusion of government into their lives and as an instrument of conformity. Police operate under basic concepts that seem to have built-in contradictions. They are called on to maintain order but have to, themselves, operate under the law. They have to protect the citizenry against crime while safeguarding the rights of the accused and criminals. New members of the police have to acclimate themselves to the culture of policing. They go through a process the author calls “police socialization,” the most salient feature of which is policing’s “slow, uneven change.” Until recently, police were, for the greater part. white, male. and high-school educated. They were subjected to “quasi-military” training. Although this is changing. the change has been a long time coming. Police have to deal with a wide spectrum of problems and people. They must take numerous actions, which require numerous decisions. This leads toward a tendency of “typifications” in problems and people. Problems are. for the most part. typically ‘*bullshit” (nuisance) types. The others are considered “real policing.” Likewise, people are considered to have either a “good attitude” (polite. respectful of police and their authority) or a “bad attitude” (impolite and indifferent). They are treated accordingly. Police misconduct falls mainly into two categories. The tirst is corruption. The very nature of policing and its minimal supervision lead to this problem. The second is unnecessary use of force. When this happens the citizens are virtually powerless. Misconduct was initially thought of as an individual problem, but studies have shown the “extraindividualistic dimensions of misconduct”-the “subcultural solidarity” tacitly ex-
PUBLICATIONS
The book consists of seventeen chapters organized in three sections. Part I provides an overview of basic prerequisites, techniques, and methodology for general criminal investigation. Sources of information are identified and evaluated, and the use of physical evidence and laboratory resources in criminal investigation is discussed. Part II provides investigation standards for more specific crimes such as homicide, rape, sexual assault, child abuse. robbery, burglary, vehicle theft, and other types of theft. Standards for narcotics and vice control and for operation of an intelligence system are also set forth. Special attention is given to one of the most critical and sensitive areas of the investigative process-the use of informants. The third section discusses arson, bombing, and hostage negotiation. It also provides suggestions for the preparation of court cases. The final topic examined is the role of the investigator in team policing; particular attention is given to the relationship between the uniformed officer and the criminal investigator. Several appendixes and tables containing detailed data are interspersed throughout the text. Each chapter contains a list of references and recommended readings. (MV)
Crime and Criminalization, Clayton A. Hartjen.
Second Edition.
by
Holt Rinehart and Winston, Publishers (CBS Inc., 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017) 1978, 259 pp., softcover-$5.95. This book, written by a social scientist from a “conflict-labeling perspective,” presents the unique view that individuals are labeled criminal as a result of going against widely held beliefs of those who compose the laws that establish the criminal justice system. Crime is described as being “whatever it is that criminally defined persons do.” He further states that being labeled a criminal isn’t solely a matter of the legality or illegality of a person’s behavior “but is also a judgment of the moral makeup of the accused. Criminal law stems from conflicts of interest among the various subgroups making up society. Criminals threaten those interests protected by law. It is not so much what a person does as what kind of person he or she is that affects labeling. If
ABSTRACTS
337
one is black, poor, migrant, or uneducated, the chance of being defined as a criminal is greatly increased. So, being labeled a criminal is “no more than a symbolic evaluation of a person’s character, not of the individual’s behavior.” The courts fare no better in the author’s judgment: “The court functions confirm the reality of which its very existence is a reflection.” Individuals coming before the courts are placed into the “categoric stereotypes” of “respectables” and criminals. The respectables are “quickly discharged” and the criminals are “rapidly processed.” “The system is simply not designed to dispense ‘justice.’ It is designed to get ‘results.’ ” It’s somewhat of a self-perpetuating system. Criminals exist to be processed by the system. The system “validates the kind of world its very presence presupposes.” The author challenges crime statistics by stating that “the relationship between the occurrence of criminal acts and the recording of such unofficial courts are by no means directly related.” “Volume is a function of what gets recorded.” Activity that is considered “worthy of criminal repression” gets recorded in crime statistics. Hartjen considers the growth of disciplines that are studying the crime problem and their self-justification. “Crime has been defined in recent years as a major social problem that requires the special expertise of criminologists to remedy, a definition that has become increasingly dominant as criminology has grown in size and prestige.” Extensive references and an index are included. (LP)
Reflections on Crime: An Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice by James A. Inciardi. Holt, Reinhart, and Winston (CBS Inc., 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1978, 214 pp., $6.50. While criminology and criminal justice have traditionally been viewed as two distinctly separate disciplines, they approach essentially the same subject matter+rime and criminals. This book. which is based on the premise that one cannot fully understand one discipline without having some understanding of the other, serves as an introduction to both criminology and criminal
338
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
justice. It attempts to provide the student of both disciplines with a simple introduction to the issues and concepts that relate to the study of crime and offenders. Six chapters discuss broad aspects of crime in America. After an introductory discussion of theories of crime and criminals, some historical perspectives of crime in America are presented. Crime and vice are traced from their beginnings in Puritan society to the twentieth-century race riots and Mafia activities. Following the historical discussion is an assessment of the extent of crime in the United States. Various statistical charts indicate trends in specific crimes for the major metropolitan areas during the early to mid 1970s. Presented next is a review of theories on the causes of crime. Early theories such as demonology, physiognomy, and phrenology are examined, as well as biological determinism, electric theories, and psychogenic approaches. As an alternative to causal theories, another approach to the study of crime focuses on behavior systems in crime and attempts to apply knowledge from a specific crime and criminal to trends, patterns. and behavior systems in crime. This chapter discusses behavior patterns commonly found in cases of homicide. assault, rape. property offenses, vocational crime. and whitecollar crime. The final chapter of the book examines the emergence of both the criminal justice system and criminal justice concepts. Special attention is given to the processes involved in the criminal justice system, which are illustrated in a simplified chart. Following each chapter is a list of suggested readings. References for each chapter are aggregated at the end of the chapter. and some chapters include notes. The book is thoroughly indexed. (MV)
Police and Policing, An Introduction
by Richard J.
Lundman. Holt. Rinehart and Winston (383 Madison Avenue. New York 10017), 1980. 215 pp.. softcover-$8.95. Most through
people interact with the police traffic violations. This, combined
only with
ABSTRACTS
the Hollywood image of chases, fights, and almost indiscriminate weapon use, has given the public a distorted view of the police. The author. a sociology professor, urges. a multidisciplinary approach for a better and more accurate understanding of the police and policing. He includes aspects of criminal justice. political science, criminology, public administration, psychology, and history in developing his subject. The first use of police organizations occurred in the United States in the mid-1800s. Although these were a consequence of a growth in urban crime, the public was hesitant, at first. to allow them. It saw organized police as an intrusion of government into their lives and as an instrument of conformity. Police operate under basic concepts that seem to have built-in contradictions. They are called on to maintain order but have to, themselves, operate under the law. They have to protect the citizenry against crime while safeguarding the rights of the accused and criminals. New members of the police have to acclimate themselves to the culture of policing. They go through a process the author calls “police socialization,” the most salient feature of which is policing’s “slow, uneven change.” Until recently, police were, for the greater part. white, male. and high-school educated. They were subjected to “quasi-military” training. Although this is changing. the change has been a long time coming. Police have to deal with a wide spectrum of problems and people. They must take numerous actions, which require numerous decisions. This leads toward a tendency of “typifications” in problems and people. Problems are. for the most part. typically ‘*bullshit” (nuisance) types. The others are considered “real policing.” Likewise, people are considered to have either a “good attitude” (polite. respectful of police and their authority) or a “bad attitude” (impolite and indifferent). They are treated accordingly. Police misconduct falls mainly into two categories. The tirst is corruption. The very nature of policing and its minimal supervision lead to this problem. The second is unnecessary use of force. When this happens the citizens are virtually powerless. Misconduct was initially thought of as an individual problem, but studies have shown the “extraindividualistic dimensions of misconduct”-the “subcultural solidarity” tacitly ex-