“The four authors of this concise volume provide an authoritative introduction to diverse key concepts about crime and its relationship to society. Each chapter starts with a definition (e.g., deviance, social control, normalization), providing readers with the vocabulary and conceptual framework for fully understanding chapter contents... a very good way to expose students and the public (and scholars from outside fields) to definitions, ideas, and theories of crime and society.” - K. Evans, Indiana State University, Choice Key Concepts in Crime and Society offers an authoritative introduction to key issues in the area of crime as it connects to society. By providing critical insight into the key issues within each concept as well as highlighted cross-references to other key concepts, students will be helped to grasp a clear understanding of each of the topics covered and how they relate to broader areas of crime and criminality. The book is divided into three parts: • Understanding Crime and Criminality: introduces topics such as the social construction of crime and deviance, social control, the fear of crime, poverty and exclusion, white collar crime, victims of crime, race/gender and crime. • Types of Crime and Criminality: explores examples including human trafficking, sex work, drug crime, environmental crime, cyber crime, war crime, terrorism, and interpersonal violence. • Responses to Crime: looks at areas such as crime and the media, policing, moral panics, deterrence, prisons and rehabilitation. The book provides an up-to-date, critical understanding on a wide range of crime related topics covering the major concepts students are likely to encounter within the fields of sociology, criminology and across the social sciences.

Crime in Pre-Industrial, Pre-Modern and Post-modern Societies

Crime in Pre-Industrial, Pre-Modern and Post-modern Societies

Crime in Pre-industrial, Pre-modern and Post-modern Societies

Definition: Actions that violate social norms, with such violations attracting state sanctions or punishments (see Crime and Deviance and also Punishment), are referred to as crimes. Exactly what constitutes a crime is difficult to define and quantify, as criminal actions vary within societies, across societies and across time. Thus, it is important to view crime in specific socio-historical periods. The three main periods examined by historical criminologists are termed pre-industrial, pre-modern and post-modern. Pre-industrial generally refers to the time period before 1750 where crime and punishment were predominantly situated within communities. Following industrialisation and the Enlightenment period, crime and punishment became more centralised with states taking on stronger roles in this ...

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