ABSTRACT
Introductory Criminology: The Study of Risky Situations takes a unique and intuitive approach to teaching and learning criminology. Avoiding the fragmentation of ideas commonly found in criminology textbooks, Marcus Felson and Mary A. Eckert develop a more practical, readable structure that engages the reader and enhances their understanding of the material. Their descriptive categories, simultaneously broad and realistic, serve better than the usual philosophical categories, such as "positivism" and "classicalism," to stimulate students’ interest and critical thinking. Short chapters, each broken into 5–7 sections, describe situations in which crime is most likely to happen, and explain why they are risky and what society can and can’t do about crime. They create a framework to organize ideas and facts, and then link these categories to the leading theories developed by criminologists over the last 100 years. With this narrative to guide them, students remember the material beyond the final exam.
This fresh new text was created by two professors to address the main points they encounter in teaching their own criminology courses. Problems solved include: reluctant readers, aversion to abstract thinking, fear of theory, and boredom with laundry lists of disconnected ideas. Felson, a leader in criminology theory with a global reputation for innovative thinking, and Eckert, an experienced criminal justice researcher, are uniquely qualified to reframe criminology in a unified arc. By design, they offer abstractions that are useful and not overbearing; their prose is readable, and their concepts are easy to comprehend and remember. This new textbook challenges instructors to re-engage with theory and present the essence of criminological thought for adult learners, coaching students to grasp the concept before any label is attached and allowing them to emerge with deeper understanding of what each theory means and offers. Lean, with no filler or fluff like stock photos, Introductory Criminology includes the authors’ graphics to crystallize and expand concepts from the text.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |4 pages
The Crime Challenge
unit 1.1|10 pages
The Need to Control Disputes
unit 1.2|10 pages
Containing Sexual Temptations
unit 1.3|6 pages
Protecting Property
unit 1.4|10 pages
Safeguarding Children
part |4 pages
Four Types of Crime Control
unit 2.1|10 pages
Personal Controls
unit 2.2|12 pages
Social Controls
unit 2.3|9 pages
Situational Controls
unit 2.4|11 pages
Formal Controls
part |4 pages
Realistic Justice
unit 3.1|9 pages
Assigning Responsibility
unit 3.2|20 pages
Realistic Policing
unit 3.3|12 pages
Realistic Court Activity
unit 3.4|11 pages
Realistic Sanctions
unit 3.5|12 pages
Efforts and Realities
unit 3.6|16 pages
Practical Crime Data
part |6 pages
Risky Ages
unit 4.1|6 pages
The Teenage Brain
unit 4.2|7 pages
Teenage Volatility
unit 4.3|9 pages
Peer Influences
unit 4.4|12 pages
Situational Inducements
unit 4.5|14 pages
Time with Peers
part |6 pages
Overt Crime Areas
unit 5.1|15 pages
Tough Neighborhoods
unit 5.2|14 pages
Cohesion vs. Intimidation
unit 5.3|13 pages
Exclusion
unit 5.4|11 pages
Concentration
unit 5.5|10 pages
Accommodation
unit 5.6|12 pages
The Pathway to Decay
unit 5.7|11 pages
Mapping Crime
part |9 pages
Risky Settings for Women
unit 6.1|17 pages
The Policy Challenge
unit 6.2|18 pages
Risky Streets
unit 6.3|11 pages
Risky Homes
unit 6.4|21 pages
Risky Nights
part |2 pages
Crime Enhancers
unit 7.1|14 pages
Crime in Groups
unit 7.2|16 pages
Crime via Cyberspace