Criminology For Dummies

Steven Briggs is a nationally recognized expert on crime. He has worked in the judicial and executive branches of government, prosecuted cases at the local, state, and federal level, and run a statewide law enforcement agency. He has lectured internationally on a variety of criminal justice topics, and in his spare time is an award-winning writer of crime fiction.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 3Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 4Where to Go from Here 4Part 1: Defining and Measuring Crime 5Chapter 1: Entering the World of Crime 7Defining the Terms: What Crime Is and How You Measure It 7Identifying elements of criminal behavior 8Gathering crime statistics 9Recognizing the Various Costs of Crime 9Noting the financial impact 9Respecting the price a victim pays 10Considering Categories of Crime 11Studying individual crimes 11Focusing on organized crime 12Spotlighting terrorism 13Figuring Out What Makes Someone Commit a Crime 14Making a rational decision 14Pointing the finger at society 14Blaming mental and physical defects 15Waging a War against Crime 16Policing the streets 16Getting the feds involved 16Working together in task forces 17Bringing Criminals to Justice 17Prosecuting crime 18Determining punishment 18Giving juveniles special attention 19Chapter 2: What Is Crime? 21Understanding the Two Categories of Criminal Activity 22Violating natural laws: Acts that are inherently bad 22Violating manmade laws: Acts that aren’t inherently bad 22Identifying Elements of a Criminal Law 24Distinguishing civil from criminal law 24Defining felonies and misdemeanors 25Requiring a physical act 26Having a guilty mind 27Linking Criminal Behavior to Cultural Mores 28Understanding that crimes change over time 28Recognizing the impact of location 29Realizing that politics play a role 30Chapter 3: How Crime Is Measured and Why It Matters 33Gathering Crime Stats: How Much Crime Is There? 34Relying on crime reports 34Tallying the number of arrests 35Spotlighting unreported crime: Victimization surveys 37Accepting the shortcomings of crime statistics 38Putting Crime Stats to Use 38Considering the Costs of Crime 40Funding the justice system 40Measuring the costs to society and victims 42Chapter 4: Helping Those in the Wake of Crime: Victims 45Looking at the Historical Treatment of Victims 46Identifying the Impact of Crime on Victims 46Physical scars 47Emotional effects 47Economic loss 48Pinpointing Who Is Likely to Be Victimized 48Considering personal characteristics 48Taking a look at theories of victimization 49Expanding Victim Services in the 21st Century 50Crime victim compensation 51Support of victim advocates 52Direct help from private, nonprofit groups 53Observing the Laws That Protect Victims’ Rights 54Invoking victims’ rights 54Enforcing victims’ rights 55Part 2: Identifying Types of Crime 57Chapter 5: Getting Violent: Crimes of Force 59Identifying Types of Violent Crimes 59Defining Homicide 60Murder 60Manslaughter 62Negligent homicide 63Assisting a suicide 63Attacking or Threatening Someone: Assault and Battery 64Vehicular assault 65Spousal assault 65Child abuse 67Forcing Sexual Contact: Rape, Sodomy, and Child Molestation 68Rape and sodomy 68Child molestation 69Taking Property under the Threat of Violence: Robbery 71Kidnapping 72Pinpointing Causes of Violence 73Struggling with drugs and alcohol 74Feeling the lasting effects of family troubles 75Suffering from mental problems 76Being influenced by society 77Making a personal choice 77Chapter 6: Hitting You in the Pocketbook: Property Crimes 79Categorizing Types of Theft 80Shoplifting 80Scamming people out of their money 81Taking personal and credit card information: Identity theft 83Stealing autos 85Breaking and entering: Burglary 86Defining Property Damage 88Sending up smoke signals: Committing arson 88Leaving your mark: Vandalizing property 89Looking at the Causes of Property Crime 89Wrestling with addiction 89Making a career choice 91Being drawn to bright and shiny objects 92Battling kleptomania 92Chapter 7: Dressing Sharp and Stealing Big: White-Collar Crimes 93Identifying Types of White-Collar Crime 94Stealing from the boss: Embezzlement 94Evading taxes 95Selling phony investments: Securities fraud 96Dumping waste and endangering employees: Environmental crime 97Cheating business and service clients 98Cheating consumers: False advertising and price fixing 99Mixing politics and crime 100The Challenges of Investigating White-Collar Crime 101Measuring the costs (in time and money) 101Facing a dearth of financial investigators 102Prosecuting and Punishing White-Collar Crime 103Equating good suits with good verdicts 103Testing the limits of corporate liability 104Making punishments fit the crimes 105Chapter 8: A Group Effort: Organized Crime and Gangs 107Grasping the Basics of Organized Crime 107Obsessing over the Italian Mafia 108Tracing the growth and decline of the Sicilian mob 108Recognizing the Mafia’s impact on public policy 110Identifying Other Ethnic-Based Organized Crime Groups 111Looking at What Organized Crime Groups Do 112Selling narcotics 112Marketing counterfeit and pirated products 113Committing fraud 114Loan sharking 116Extorting money 116Committing violence to support the “business” 117Laundering money 117Fighting Organized Crime 118Overcoming jurisdictional boundaries: Task forces 119Proving conspiracy 119Setting up wiretaps 120Relying on informants 121Going undercover 123Taking back the money: Forfeiture 123Getting an Inside Scoop on Criminal Gangs 124Youth and street gangs 124Motorcycle gangs 127Prison gangs 129Chapter 9: Tackling a Worldwide Problem: The Narcotics Trade 131The Global Workings of Dealing Drugs 132Making drugs illegal 132Growing plants for the drug trade 133Mixing chemicals for the drug trade 136Moving dope to your neighborhood 139Treating Drug Users 142Examining types of treatment 143Using drug courts 144Shifting treatment goals 144Working to Prevent Drug Abuse 145Educating in school 145Testing for drugs 146Monitoring prescription drugs 146Chapter 10: Front-Page News: Terrorism 147Structuring Terrorist Threats 148Striking as an organization 148Acting alone 149Recognizing Types of Terrorist Threats in the U.S. 149Right-wing threats 149Left-wing threats 151Religious threats 152Acting Out of Hate: Distinguishing Hate Crimes 155Fighting Back against Terrorism 156Reducing terrorist motivation 156Eliminating operational capability: Defunding terrorists 157Joining forces to combat terrorism 158Part 3: Figuring Out Who Commits Crimes and Why 161Chapter 11: What Factors Lead to Crime? 163Noting Personal Characteristics That Many Criminals Share 163Age: Is crime a young person’s game? 164Gender: Why do men take first place in crime? 166Income: Does less money in your pocket lead to more crime? 166Race: Does skin color influence criminality, or is racism to blame? 168Education: Do higher degrees equal lower crime rates? 172Religious affiliation: Are there benefits of practicing a faith? 172Looking at the Impact of Societal Conditions on Crime 173Pop culture: Is violence inspired through entertainment and games? 173A bad economy: Does recession lead to crime? 173Your Zip code: Do regional differences affect crime rates? 174Studying the Impact of Atmospheric Changes 177Chapter 12: Regarding Crime as a Rational Decision: Rational Choice Theory 179Taking a Quick Tour through Classical Theory 180Calculating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Crime 181Analyzing risks and rewards 181Choosing the type and place of crime 183Factoring in personality and skills 183Meeting the offender’s needs 184Creating Rational Deterrents to Crime 184Running the risk of being caught (and punished) 185Increasing the severity of punishment 186Aiming for speedy punishment 187Preventing the rewards 188Examining the Limits of Rational Choice Theory 189Considering humans who behave irrationally 189Seeing how crime often pays 191Dealing with the values gap 191Chapter 13: Looking at Society’s Role in Crime 193Introducing Social Disorganization Theory 194Studying Strain Theory 194Anomie theory 195General strain theory 195Institutional anomie theory 196Subculture theories 197Considering Social Learning Theories 198Differential association theory 198Techniques of neutralization theory 199Delving into Social Control Theories 200Containment theory 200Social bond theory 201Chapter 14: Can Your Mind or Body Make You a Criminal? 203Biological Positivism: Trying to Link Appearance to Crime 203Wrestling with the Influence of Genetics 204Figuring out how parents influence criminal behavior 205Creating criminals through evolution 206Blaming the Brain 206Eating a poor diet 207Grappling with the wrong brain chemistry 207Having a low IQ 207Struggling with Mental Illness 209Dealing with a Personality Disorder 209Focusing on antisocial personality disorder 210Distinguishing psychopaths 210Chapter 15: Critical Criminology: Theories off the Beaten Path 213Considering Someone a Criminal: Labeling Theory 214Changing someone’s self-image 214Erasing the criminal label 215Finding the theory’s weakness 216Exploring Feminist Theory 217Examining Leftist Realism: A Response to Law and Order 218Making Peace with Peacemaking Theory 220Seeking Healing through Restorative Justice 221Encouraging justice within a community 221Debating treatment versus incarceration 222Part 4: Fighting Crime 223Chapter 16: Battling Crime at the Local Level 225Keeping the Streets Clean: The Players at the Local Level 225Distinguishing sheriffs from police chiefs 226Driving the streets: Patrol officers 227Focusing on neighborhoods: Community officers 228Supervising patrol officers: Sergeants 229Investigating crimes: Detectives 229Police officers with special assignments 230Counting on civilian employees 231Greater than the sum of their parts: Task forces 232Bringing in citizen cops: Reserves 232Thinking about Theories of Policing 233Policing at the community level 233Following the broken windows theory 235Adopting intelligence-led policing 237Chapter 17: Tackling Crime at the Federal Level 241Sorting through the Alphabet Soup of Federal Agencies 242Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 242Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) 244Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 245Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) 246Secret Service 248U.S Marshals Service 248Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 249Other federal law enforcement agencies 249Coordinating Federal and Local Efforts 251Working with local law enforcement 251Federal funding: Tapping federal resources to maximize effect 252Chapter 18: Solving Crimes: The Process 253Responding to a Crime Scene 254Interviewing witnesses 254Interrogating suspects 255Gathering physical evidence 256Writing a report 258Using Special Crime-Fighting Tools and Techniques 259Conducting crime scene investigations 259Applying for search warrants 262Analyzing computers, cellphones, and other electronic evidence 263Administering lie detector tests 263Looking for fingerprints 264Testing DNA 265Comparing handwriting 268Studying blood stain patterns 269Collecting cell tower evidence 270Reconstructing an accident 271Part 5: Prosecuting and Punishing Crime 273Chapter 19: Seeking Justice in Court: The Players and Their Roles 275Prosecutors: Guardians of Safety 275Charging crimes 276Helping with investigations 278Weighing ethical responsibilities 279Fulfilling additional duties 279Defense Attorneys: Guardians of Liberty 280Hiring a public or private defender 281Facing ethical dilemmas 283Trial Judges: Overseeing the Justice Process 283Authorizing cops to search 283Keeping cases moving 284Presiding over a trial 285Sentencing the defendant 287Appellate Judges: Setting Legal Precedents 288Looking for procedural errors 289Wading through the final layers of appeal 290Chapter 20: Finding the Truth: Pleading Guilty or Going to Trial 293Keeping It Local: Municipal Courts 293Movin’ On Up: State Court Systems 294Affecting the Whole Nation: The Federal Court System 295Negotiating a Plea Agreement 296Determining the strength of the evidence 297Figuring out time in custody 298Considering victim compensation 298Working out probation conditions 299Suppressing Evidence (or Not): The Pretrial Hearing 299Determining whether a search was legal 300Looking at a defendant’s confession 300Facing a Jury (or a Judge): The Process 301Choosing trial by jury or by judge 301Selecting a jury 302Making opening statements 302Proving the state’s case 303Conducting direct examinations 304Displaying physical exhibits 304Cross-examining witnesses 305Putting on a defense 305Hearing closing arguments 308Reaching a verdict 309Chapter 21: Punishing the Guilty: Why and How Society Does It 313Understanding Theories of Punishment and Incarceration 314Seeking retribution, not personal revenge 314Deterring future crimes 314Protecting society: Incapacitation 315Aiming for rehabilitation and restoration 315Combining the theories 316Placing Defendants in Custody 316Going to a local jail 317Heading to state prison 318Facing federal prison 321Serving time in Private Prison, Inc. 322Facing Challenges in the Prison System 323Controlling contraband 323Dealing with inmate violence 324Implementing treatment and education programs 327Covering the cost of imprisonment 328Placing Defendants on Probation 329The probation officer’s role 329Probation violations and their effects 330Debating the Death Penalty 331The crimes you can die for 331The rules of a capital case 332The execution process 334Arguments for or against the death penalty 335Chapter 22: Examining the Juvenile Justice System 339Looking Back: The Historical Treatment of Juveniles 339Why Juveniles Are Treated Differently 341Walking through the Juvenile Justice Process 342Speaking the language of the juvenile justice system 343Introducing the key players 344Arresting and detaining a juvenile 345Filing a petition — or not 346Adjudicating a case 347Proceeding to disposition 348Facing probation 348Treating a Juvenile like an Adult 349Eyeing Modern Trends in Juvenile Justice 350Part 6: The Part of Tens 351Chapter 23: Ten Jobs to Consider in Criminal Justice 353Police Officer 353Corrections Officer 356Forensic Scientist 357Computer Forensic Specialist 358Crime and Intelligence Analysts 359Probation Officer 360Juvenile Counselor 361Crime Victim Advocate 362Legal or Law Enforcement Administrative Assistant 362Court Reporter 363Chapter 24: Ten Notorious, Unsolved Crimes 365The JonBenet Ramsey Murder 365The Sam Sheppard Case 366The Zodiac Killer 367The Murder of Robert Blake’s Wife 369The Murder of Seattle Prosecutor Tom Wales 369The D B Cooper Hijacking 371The Black Dahlia Murder 372The Jack the Ripper Killings 373The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa 373The Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G 374Index 377