Fundamentals of Criminology

Book excerpt: Fundamentals of Criminology: New Dimensions delivers a comprehensive and comprehensible introduction to the discipline of criminology. As the title implies, it covers the fundamentals of criminology, including the major theories of crime causation, classic and current empirical tests of those theories, the strengths and weaknesses and the policy implications of each. It also describes the types of crime and provides current rates, trends over time and theoretical explanations for each, as well as a discussion of characteristics of offenders and victims. What sets this book apart from the many other fine criminology textbooks out there is its inclusion of some new dimensions of criminology. The new dimensions in this book include but are not limited to research designs in criminology, new theories of crime causation, crime in different contexts, connections between criminology and criminal justice policy and a number of lingering issues for both disciplines. In combination with the fundamentals, these new dimensions are designed to provide readers with the richest, most complete understanding of what crime is, how much of it there is, what causes it and what do to about it, as well as the ability and desire to pose important questions for the future of both criminology and criminal justice. “The authors have produced a comprehensive, readable, and thoroughly interesting text covering the topic of sociological criminology. Yes, there are a plethora of texts in this area, but Harper and Frailing’s addition to the field has a number of features moving it ahead of the competition. There is in-depth coverage of emerging areas in crime, including cybercrime and human trafficking, as well as an excellent section on how disasters augment the opportunities for crime by hindering capable guardianship. The authors’ arguments for evidence-based crime prevention strategies and public policies are compelling. Fundamentals of Criminology is worthy of the closest consideration by instructors teaching undergraduate criminology courses.” — Jay Corzine, professor of sociology, University of Central Florida