Summary
Contents
“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.
Violence/Interpersonal Violence
Violence/Interpersonal Violence
Definition: Violence generally refers to intentional acts that threaten or cause physical injury, and violence committed by individuals often occurs between people who know one another. Interpersonal violence refers to violent acts that occur in the context of social interaction, and large numbers of victims of interpersonal violence do not report the crime to police. Violence can also be instigated by corporations, institutions and states.
Although research into violence has spanned several disciplines, social scientists do not necessarily agree on how violence is best defined. In other words, there is no real consensus on how violence should be defined or on what acts are considered to be violent. Gartner (2011) suggests that violence is often defined as ‘physical force intended to ...
