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