3 Review(s)

Criminologists are most interested in theory and control and not much in the crimes themselves. Much of the scholarly literature takes the criminal justice system functions, like prisons, sentencing, and deterrence, as the main topics for policy analysis. Using a fresh approach, The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Public Policy offers a comprehensive examination of crimes as public policy subjects to provide an authoritative overview of current knowledge about the nature, scale, and effects of diverse forms of criminal behavior and of efforts to prevent and control them. Michael Tonry, a leading authority on criminology, has brought together twenty-four of the most distinguished active scholars in the field to present a wide-ranging overview and analysis of violent crimes, property crimes, crimes against morality, transactional crimes, and transnational crimes. Straightforward and accessible, individual chapters cover traditional topics such as firearms violence, financial crimes, and organized crime as well as emerging subjects like terrorism, crimes against humanity, and internet child pornography. As the only work to focus on crimes as public policy problems, it will appeal to social scientists and public officials concerned with crime or criminal justice.