ABSTRACT
The past few chapters have suggested a number of ways of thinking about crime that have been developed by criminologists over the past century and a half. Some of the ideas are now seen as outdated, but in general they have all provoked thought and can often be seen to persist – in new forms – to this day. We are still interested in ideas of the criminal person and of justice (Chapter 4). We still look at social explanations of crime and delinquency – such as the ideas established by the Chicago School (Chapter 5).And labelling, conflict theory and feminist theory are very much alive and well (Chapter 6). In this chapter, we will consider a few of the newer social trends as a background to the rest of the book. Once again, some of the ideas will be taken up in more detail later.
