According to Durkheim comparative sociology is sociology itself. Comparative criminology goes back to the days of Durkheim, but today it is possible to conduct group comparisons in many settings and with an incredible array of data. This book represents a variety of approaches making comparisons. The emphasis is on creative methods, challenging theory and unusual subject matter. Topics range from Micro-Macro Criminology to Police Strength and from Women Police to Crime Prevention Policies in the UK and the US. Contributors are Cyndi Banks, Adam C. Bouloukos, Ken Clark, Ronald V. Clarke, Brett Dakin, Graham Farrell, Joshua D. Freilich, Gregory J. Howard, Erin Lake, Gloria Laycock , Edward R. Maguire, Mangai Natarajan, Graeme Newman, Jeremy A. Pienik, Rebecca Schulte-Murray, Mark Seis, Shlomo Giora Shoham, and Andromachi Tseloni.

How do we reduce and prevent crime? This is a question with which governments, academics and criminal justice professionals have been grappling for decades. Crime Prevention explores the legislative developments, policy changes and practical strategies that have been put in place in recent years in an attempt to manage the level of crime in our society. The book also assesses how governments' approaches to serious crime, the war on terror, human rights and race and immigration policies have influenced ideas about community safety and crime prevention. It offers a handy glossary, along with suggestions for further reading, in order to enhance understanding of critical issues. Accessible and compelling, this book is essential reading for students of criminology, criminal justice and social policy. It is also an indispensable analytical tool for professionals working within the criminal justice arena.

Comparative, International and Global Justice: Perspectives from Criminology and Criminal Justice presents and critically assesses a wide range of topics relevant to criminology, criminal justice and global justice. The text is divided into three parts: comparative criminal justice, international criminology, and transnational and global criminology. Within each field are located specific topics which the authors regard as contemporary and highly relevant and that will assist students in gaining a fuller appreciation of global justice issues. Authors Cyndi Banks and James Baker address these complex global issues using a scholarly but accessible approach, often using detailed case studies. The discussion of each topic is a comprehensive contextualized account that explains the social context in which law and crime exist and engages with questions of explanation or interpretation. The authors challenge students to gain knowledge of international and comparative criminal justice issues and think about them in a critical manner. It has become difficult to ignore the global and international dimensions of criminal justice and criminology and this text aims to enhance criminal justice education by focusing on some of the issues engaging criminology worldwide, and to prepare students for a future where fields of study like transnational crime are unexceptional.

This book examines the issues of crime and its control in the twenty-first century - an era of human history where people live in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world - providing invaluable and first-hand readings for undergraduate and postgradate students.

Sexual homicide continues to be one of the most widely reported and sensationalised forms of murder, attracting fascination from the public and scholars alike. Despite this continued interest, few empirical studies have been conducted on this particular form of sexual crime. The Sexual Murderer provides an analytical review of the state of knowledge on the sexual murderer and his offense, and presents new data that confronts some of the accepted ideas and myths surrounding this type of homicide. The authors draw on original data stemming from both offenders and the police to present an exhaustive and accurate picture of the sexual murderer and his offense, and compare the sex offenders who do kill with sex offenders who, despite being very violent, do not. Each chapter includes a section on the practical implications of the findings, and what the findings mean for professionals working with these cases and for the criminal justice system. This book explores themes including the role of fantasies, paraphilias, and personality; criminal career; context of the crime; journey to murder; modus operandi and crime scene; sex trade workers; avoiding detection; body disposal pathways; and whether we can predict sexual homicide occurrence. This book is a comprehensive resource for academic and professionals involved in sexual homicide cases, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, investigators and profilers, as well as individuals working in the field of sexual violence. This book will also be of interest to students taking courses on homicide, sexual homicide, and serial homicide.

Transnational crime and justice will characterize the 21st century in same way that traditional street crimes dominated the 20th century. In the Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice, Philip Reichel and Jay Albanese bring together top scholars from around the world to offer perspectives on the laws, crimes, and criminal justice responses to transnational crime. This concise, reader-friendly handbook is organized logically around four major themes: the problem of transnational crime; analysis of specific transnational crimes; approaches to its control; and regional geographical analyses. Each comprehensive chapter is designed to be explored as a stand-alone topic, making this handbook an important textbook and reference tool for students and practitioners alike.

This edited volume presents the diversity of comparative criminology research in Asia, and the complex theoretical and methodological issues involved in conducting comparative research. With contributors both from the West and the East exploring these questions, the Editors have created a balanced resource, as well as set an agenda for future research. The increasing pace of globalization means that researchers should be armed with an understanding of how criminal justice systems work across the world. In the past, comparative research largely compared Western countries to each other, or involve d researchers from a Western perspective examining an Asian country, with models and theories developed in the West considered to have universal applications. This work aims to correct that gap, by providing a critical examination of comparative research, presenting quantitative and qualitative research data, and asking new questions that challenge prevailing research norms and provide an agenda for future research. This work will be of interest for researchers across the field of Criminology, particularly those with an interest in International and Comparative Research, research on or about Asia, and related disciplines such as Sociology, Demography, and Social Policy. “This fine collection that goes to the rich distinctiveness of Asian criminology. The editors have brought together a wonderful collection of authors mainly from the region. The distinctiveness of values and relational practices in Asia are recurrent themes that are well developed in this book and help us to make sense of patterns of crime and criminal justice in Asia.” John Braithwaite, Australian National University “What theoretical, methodological, and practical issues must we confront in conducting cross-cultural studies encompassing Western and Asian countries? Comparative Criminology in Asia discusses these issues and presents exemplary comparative research. The introductory chapter and the introduction to each part by the co-editors are lucid and highly educational. This collection must be required reading for every serious scholar and aspiring graduate student in Asian countries so that criminological and criminal justice studies will be brought to a much higher level o f sophistication.” Setsuo Miyazawa, UC Hastings “Can there be – and should there be -- a distinctive Asian criminology? What would this involve? The answer depends on what one thinks of the universalistic explanatory claims of Western criminology. Will these claims become self- fulfilling as these societies add to colonial influences a more deliberate borrowing of criminal justice models and established ways of pursuing discipline of criminology? Or will a more critical spirit prevail? This welcome edited collection by Liu, Travers and Chang provides an excellent starting point for reflecting on these and other questions. Rather than attempting to provide descriptions of the variety of similarities and differences in this region (though there are some fascinating case studies of these) the focus is even more on exploring the theoretical approa ches and methodologies used in comparing institutional and cultural differences by Asian criminologists and others.” David Nelken, King’s College, London “Criminologists can no longer ignore the impact of globalization on the pattern and amount of crime as we experienced recently, nor can we ignore the global change of criminal justice policies to deal with crime. There is, therefore, a desperate need to collect data on how crime and criminal justice are influenced by globalization across Asian countries. On the other hand, there are debates on the issue of culture-specific vs. pan-culture theories of crime. This collection addresses both issues in an interesting way. Its publication is timely and welcome.” Chuen-Jim Sheu, National Taipei University