“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 and Theory

Crime and Theory

Definition: Criminological theories seek to explain criminal behaviour and crime or the response to these phenomena.

Theories attempt to explain the relationship between two or more phenomena. Similar to other social sciences, causation is interpreted in terms of likelihood, i.e. A generally leads to B. Theories must be stated in a way that allows them to be tested by research conducted in different settings. Understanding the cultural reach of criminological theory is important; factors contributing to crime in one culture can differ from those that explain crime in another. The benefits of theory are that it can increase our understanding of crime and, in some instances, can inform public policy.

Most criminological theories attempt to explain street crime (see also ...

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles