Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice is an innovative, fascinating treatment of some of the seminal theories in criminology and key policies in criminal justice, offering a detailed and nuanced picture of these core ideas. With a fluid, accessible and lively writing style, this brief text is organized around major theories, ideas, and movements that mark a turning point in the field, and concludes with a discussion of the future of criminology and criminal justice. Readers will learn about the most salient criminological and criminal justice research and understand its influence on theory and policy. They will also understand the surrounding sociopolitical conditions from which the ideas sprang and the style and manner in which they were disseminated, which helped these scholarly contributions become cornerstones in the fields of criminology and criminal justice.

Key Features

Examines key research over a wide timespan as well as the conditions that helped certain ideas achieve prominence

Provides a well-rounded approach by incorporating scholarly work in both criminology and criminal justice into a single text

Presents chapter-ending discussion questions that are useful for facilitating discussion and critical analysis

Intended Audience

This is an ideal supplemental book for undergraduate or graduate-level Introductory Criminology, Criminological Theory, Crime and Delinquency, and Special Topics or Capstone courses in criminology, sociology, or criminal justice departments, or any course focused on key ideas contributions within these fields.