By Nicole Rafter

FROM THE PREFACE: “All early theories of crime were biological. Indeed, until the early 20th century, biological theories and criminology were virtually synonymous. But then biological theories were pushed aside by sociological explanations of criminal behavior. Although a few die hard eugenicists kept biological theories alive, by the end of World War II, when people realized what the Nazis had done in the name of biology, these explanations were firmly rejected and consigned to the dustbin of history--to stay there, many hoped, forever. Biological theorizing was not dead, however, but only dormant….”

NY. New York University Press. 2008. 326p. USED BOOK - CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Jonathan D. Rosen and  Hanna Samir Kassab 

  According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Americas is the most violent region in the world. The Americas has a homicide rate of 16.3 per 100,000 people, while Africa had a homicide rate of 12.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Europe, Oceania, and Asia had much lower homicide rates with three percent, three percent, and 2.9 percent, respectively (see Fig.  1.1).1 The Americas is also home to the most violent country in the world. In 2015, El Salvador surpassed Honduras as the most violent non-waring nation. Violence has exceeded the days of the country’s civil war, which lasted for more than a decade. In fact, experts note that at one point in 2015 El Salvador had one murder per hour. Jonathan Watts writes, “Last Sunday was, briefly, the bloodiest day yet with 40 murders. But the record was beaten on Monday with 42 deaths, and surpassed again on Tuesday with 43. Even Iraq—with its civil war, suicide bombings, mortar attacks and US drone strikes—could not match such a lethal start to the week.”2 In January 2017, the country saw a rare phenomenon occur: one day without a murder.3 Much of the violence in El Salvador has been a result of gang-related activities as well as the consequences of the government’s tough on crime strategies.4 El Salvador’s neighbors, Guatemala and Honduras, have also seen high levels of gang-related violence.5 Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández argued that 80 percent of the homicides that occur in this country are related to organized crime.  

New York:London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 165p.

By Hernan Mondani and Amir Rostami

Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) have received increased attention from both law enforcement agencies and the research community. This study investigates the criminal collaboration patterns of two OMGs with a long history of hostilities. We use government data on individuals registered as belonging to Hells Angels MC, Bandidos MC and individuals with multiple OMG memberships, and suspicion data from 2011 to 2016 to build co-offending networks. Our results show that members of multiple OMGs tend to have higher centrality and clustering. These members also have the highest levels of suspicions per capita, and most of the co-offending is related to nexus links involving multiple membership individuals. They can be described as ‘criminal nomads’, collaborating with individuals from different organisations. Our results suggest that core members tend to engage in white-collar crime to a greater extent than those on the periphery, which tend to engage more in violence and drug crime.

GLOBAL CRIME                                               2022, VOL. 23, NO. 2, 193–215

By John Pitts

Drawing upon research undertaken by the present author in East, North West and South London and the work of other UK social scientists, this article considers the evidence concerning the involvement of young people of African-Caribbean origin and Mixed Heritage in street gangs and gang crime in London (For the sake of brevity, I will simply refer to these young people as Black, not least because this is how they usually define themselves). It outlines the sometimes acrimonious debate about the relationship between race, crime and street gangs in the United Kingdom in the past three decades, concluding that while many of the claims made about this relationship may be exaggerated or simply untrue, the evidence for the over-representation of Black young people in street gangs in London is compelling. The article then turns to the changing social and economic predicament of some Black young people in the capital since the 1980s and its relationship with their involvement in gang crime. Finally, it considers the role of drugs business in the proliferation of the gang form and ‘gangsta’ culture and the involvement of growing numbers of younger Black people in County Lines drug dealing.

Youth Justice, Volume 20, Issue 1-2, April-August 2020, Pages 146-158

The first five volumes of the Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham contain over 1,300 letters written both to and from Bentham over a 50-year period, beginning in 1752 (aged three) with his earliest surviving letter to his grandmother, and ending in 1797 with correspondence concerning his attempts to set up a national scheme for the provision of poor relief. Against the background of the debates on the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789, to which he made significant contributions, Bentham worked first on producing a complete penal code, which involved him in detailed explorations of fundamental legal ideas, and then on his panopticon prison scheme. Despite developing a host of original and ground-breaking ideas, contained in a mass of manuscripts, he published little during these years, and remained, at the close of this period, a relatively obscure individual. Nevertheless, these volumes reveal how the foundations were laid for the remarkable rise of Benthamite utilitarianism in the early nineteenth century.

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Volume 1 . 1752-76. Edited by Timothy  L.S. Spriggs
London: UCL Press, 2017. 432p.

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Volume 2:  1 7 7 7 – 8 0 Edited by Timothy L.S. Spriggs
London: UCL Press, 2017. 560p.

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Volume 3:  January 1781 to October 1788. Edited by Ian R. Christie.
London: UCL Press, 2017. 656p.

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Volume 4: October 1788 to December 1793. Edited by Alexander Taylor Milne
London: UCL Press, 2017. 554p.

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Volume 5:  January 1794 to December 1797 . Edited by  Alexander Taylor Milne 
London: UCL Press, 2017. 428p.

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By Anu Koskivirta

"This work explores the quantitative and qualitative development of homicide in eastern Finland in the second half of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth. The area studied comprised northern Savo and northern Karelia in eastern Finland. At that time, these were completely agricultural regions on the periphery of the kingdom of Sweden. Indeed the majority of the population still got their living from burn-beating agriculture. The analysis of homicide there reveals characteristics that were exceptional by Western European standards: the large proportion of premeditated homicides (murders) and those within the family is more reminiscent of modern cities in the West than of a pre-modern rural society. However, there also existed some archaic forms of Western crime there. Most of the homicides within the family were killings of brothers or brothers-in law, connected with the family structure (the extended family) that prevailed in the region. This study uses case analysis to explore the causes for the increase in both familial homicide and murder in the area. One of the explanatory factors that is dealt with is the interaction between the faltering penal practice that then existed and the increase in certain types of homicide."

Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society / SKS, 2003. 217p.

By Jerzy  Kochanowsk

This book analyzes the history of the black market in Poland before the 1940s and the development of black-market phenomena in post-war Poland. The author evaluates the interrelation between black-market phenomena and historical and geographical conditions. At first, the black market stabilized the system by making it more flexible and creating a margin of freedom, albeit in the short term. In the long run, the informal economic activities of the people ran counter to and undermined the official ideology of the state. The author concludes that in post-war Poland, owing to a singular coincidence of historical, political, economic and social factors, the second economy had its own unique character and an endemic presence that loomed large in the Soviet Bloc.

Bern: Peter Lang, 2017. 436p.

By Hermann Mannheim

From the preface: “It happened perhaps eleven years ago, not long before my retirement from the teaching of criminology in the University of London. One day, after I had just completedmy first lecture of the new session and distributed copies of my, notoriously rather lengthy, reading listfor the course, Iwas approached by ayoung girl student who, holding her copy ni her hand, said ni avoice which sounded polite butalsorather determined: Sir, I am quite willing to read a bookon criminology, but itm u s t be only one, in which I can find everything required. Can you recommend such a book?' After some hesitation and with a strong feeling of guilt I replied that I could not comply with her request as there was no such book and she would probably have to read several of the items on my list, whereupon she silently and rather despondently withdrew.”

Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1965. 772p. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

By Chloe Hooper

London. Hamish Hamilton. 2018. 254p.

On the scorching February day in 2009, a man lit two fires in the Australian state of Victoria, then sat on the roof of his house to watch the inferno. What came to be known as the Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people and injured hundreds more, making them among the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in Australian history. As communities reeling from unspeakable loss demanded answers, detectives scrambled to piece together what really happened. They soon began to suspect the fires had been deliverately set by an arsonist.

The Arsonist takes readers on the hunt for this man, and inside the puzzle of his mind. But this book is also the story of fire in the Anthropocene. The command of fire has defined and sustained us as a species, and now, as climate change normalizes devastating wildfires worldwide, we must contend with the forces of inequality, and desperate yearning for power, that can lead to such destruction.

Written with Chloe Hooper’s trademark lyric detail and nuance, The Arsonist is a reminder that in the age of fire, all of us are gatekeepers.

By Rosenfeld, Richard; Boxerman, Bobby; Lopez, Ernesto, Jr.

From the Introduction: "This report updates CCJ's [Council on Criminal Justice's] previous studies [hyperlink] of crime changes during the coronavirus pandemic, extending the analyses with data through December of 2022. The current study finds a drop in homicide, aggravated assaults, and gun assaults and a rise in robbery and most property crimes. The authors' conclusions have not changed: to achieve substantial and sustainable reductions in violence and crime, cities should adopt evidence-based crime-control strategies and long-needed reforms to policing. The 35 cities included in this study were selected based on data availability [...] and range from Richmond, VA, the smallest, with 227,000 residents, to New York, the largest, with more than 8.4 million residents. The mean population of the cities for which crime data were available is approximately 1.1 million, while the median population is roughly 652,000. This report assesses monthly changes between January of 2018 and December of 2022 for the following 10 crimes: homicide, aggravated assault, gun assault, domestic violence, robbery, residential burglary, nonresidential burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and drug offenses. As in the previous reports, this analysis focuses special attention on the trend in homicides. It also examines in greater detail than in prior reports the substantial increase in motor vehicle thefts and carjacking since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020."

Council On Criminal Justice. 2023. 29p.

By Timothy W. Ryback.

From the cover: “Ryback’s account is gripping—and thoroughly chilling—as it provides a snapshot of a moment when the Nazis still required a veil of legality. . . . Diligently researched works such as this are as necessary now as they were decades ago, to keep both memory and vigilance alive." —The Telegraph (London). "Has all the makings of a legal thriller ” —The Boston Globe. "Valuable. . . . Turns the spotlight on the rapid erosion of state power in the early months of Nazi rule. . . . Ryback’s vivid narrative of an ordinary German lawyer's experience makes this feel much more immediate, bringing home the terrible realities of early Nazification.” —The Times Higher Education (London)

NY. Vintage Random House. 2014. 290p.

By Reynolds, John, active 1621-1650

The triumphs of Gods revenge against the crying and execrable sinne of (wilful and premeditated) murther : with his miraculous discoveries, and severe punishment thereof : in thirty several tragical histories, (digested into six books) committed in divers countreys beyond the seas : never published or imprinted in any other language.

London : Printed by A.M. for William Lee, and are to be sold by George Sawbridg, Francis Tyton, John Martin ... [and 9 others]. 1670. 508p.

Edited by Graeme R. Newman

“To celebrate our 200th year of crime, I have tried to bring together a number of papers which (1) trace some historical origins of crime and justice in America; (2) examine some cultural expressions of crime through fact, fiction, and policy; and (3) are themselves representative of the cultural context of crime. Some of the papers attempt to destroy myths; others to comprehend them. Still others try to break out of the visionary mold and plead for rationality. We have on our hands, Wilkins says, a “mad, bad, sick” confusion. The colossal complexity of the concept of crime cannot be doubted, and its role in the mythical foundations of national culture has yet to be apprehended. Perhaps if we can rid ourselves of this confusing moralism about crime, we will be able to go forward with clear heads and protect ourselves.”

Philadelphia. Tha Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences. 1976. 240p.

By Aidan Sammons and David Putwain

What does a criminological psychologist actually do? Most people picture a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, helping the police to solve crimes, but the reality is far more interesting and complex. Psychology and Crime offers a fascinating introduction to criminological psychology, providing the reader with a comprehensive grounding in everything from cognitive forensics to police interviewing. Concise, informative and accessible, the book explores a range of theories to understand criminal behaviour, from the physiological to the social. It covers a range of contexts within the criminal justice system where psychology offers unique insights, including police investigation, the perspective of witnesses and victims, and courtroom proceedings. Thoroughly updated throughout to reflect developments in the field, and featuring new chapters covering cybercrime, terrorism and insights from neuroscience, this edition also includes a student-friendly ‘Apply your learning’ feature and case studies to bring the research to life. Accessibly written for all levels and with concise coverage of both classic and contemporary psychological theory, this is the ideal book for anyone studying criminal or forensic psychology.

Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2019. 226p.

By Clive R. Hollin

Psychological theory and method have played a major part in shaping our understanding and interpretation of crime. Psychology and Crime supplies a timely and much-needed general text covering the range of contributions psychology has made both to understanding crime and responding to it. The book provides an accessible overview of theory and research from criminology, sociology, and psychology, focusing on three distinct themes. First, psychological theories about the offender are discussed, including the way in which mental disorder is defined. Second, the author analyses society's response to crime - the role of police and the courts. Finally, the book looks at crime prevention - both the rehabilitation of offenders and situational strategies for preventing crime.

London; New York: Routledge, 1989. 438p.

By Stephen P. Frank

This book is the first to explore the largely unknown world of rural crime and justice in post-emancipation Imperial Russia. Drawing upon previously untapped provincial archives and a wealth of other neglected primary material, Stephen P. Frank offers a major reassessment of the interactions between peasantry and the state in the decades leading up to World War I. Viewing crime and punishment as contested metaphors about social order, his revisionist study documents the varied understandings of criminality and justice that underlay deep conflicts in Russian society, and it contrasts official and elite representations of rural criminality—and of peasants—with the realities of everyday crime at the village level.

Berkeley, CA: London: University of California Press, 1999.

By Jonathan Daly; Jonathan Smele; Michael Melancon

Crime and Punishment in Russiasurveys the evolution of criminal justice in Russia during a span of more than 300 years, from the early modern era to the present day. Maps, organizational charts, a list of important dates, and a glossary help the reader to navigate key institutional, legal, political, and cultural developments in this evolution. The book approaches Russia both on its own terms and in light of changes in Europe and the wider West, to which Russia's rulers and educated elites continuously looked for legal models and inspiration. It examines the weak advancement of the rule of the law over the period and analyzes the contrasts and seeming contradictions of a society in which capital punishment was sharply restricted in the mid-1700s, while penal and administrative exile remained heavily applied until 1917 and even beyond. Daly also provides concise political, social, and economic contextual detail, showing how the story of crime and punishment fits into the broader narrative of modern Russian history. This is an important and useful book for all students of modern Russian history as well as of the history of crime and punishment in modern Europe.

London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. 258p.

By Nancy Kollmann

This is a magisterial new account of the day-to-day practice of Russian criminal justice in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Nancy Kollmann contrasts Russian written law with its pragmatic application by local judges, arguing that this combination of formal law and legal institutions with informal, flexible practice contributed to the country's social and political stability. She also places Russian developments in the broader context of early modern European state-building strategies of governance and legal practice. She compares Russia's rituals of execution to the 'spectacles of suffering' of contemporary European capital punishment and uncovers the dramatic ways in which even the tsar himself, complying with Moscow's ideologies of legitimacy, bent to the moral economy of the crowd in moments of uprising. Throughout, the book assesses how criminal legal practice used violence strategically, administering horrific punishments in some cases and in others accommodating with local communities and popular concepts of justice.

Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 506p.

Edited by Jens Rydström and Kati Mustola

This book provides a coherent history of criminal law and homosexuality in Scandinavia 1842-1999, a period during which same-sex love was outlawed or subject to more or less severe legal restrictions in the Scandinavian penal codes. This was the case in most countries in Northern Europe, but the book argues that the development in Scandinavia was different, partly determined by the structure of the welfare state. Five of the most experienced scholars of the history of homosexuality in the region (Jens Rydström, Kati Mustola, Wilhelm von Rosen, Martin Skaug Halsos and Thorgerdur Thorvaldsdóttir) describe how same-sex desire has been regulated in their respective countries during the past 160 years. The authors with their backgrounds in history, sociology, and gender studies represent an interdisciplinary approach to the problem of criminalization of same-sex sexuality. Their contributions, consisting for the most part of previously unpublished material, present for the first time a comprehensive history of homosexuality in Scandinavia. Among other things, it includes the most extensive study yet written in any language about Iceland's gay and lesbian history. Also for the first time, the book discusses in detail same-sex sexuality between women before the law in modern society and presents previously unpublished findings on this topic. Female homosexuality was outlawed in Eastern Scandinavia, but not in the Western parts of this region. It also analyzes the modern tendency to include lesbian women in the criminal discourse as an effect of the medicalization of homosexuality and the growing influence of medical discourse on the law.

Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers, 2007. 312p.

By Laura Y. Calderón

Mexico had the most violent year in its history in 2019, reporting 29,406 intentional homicide cases, resulting in 34,588 individual victims.1 However, violence remains a highly focalized phenomenon in Mexico, with 23% of all intentional homicide cases concentrated in five municipalities and three major clusters of violence with homicide rates over 100 per 100,000 inhabitants. Following the national trend, the state of Guanajuato also had its most violent year in 2019, with one of its largest cities featured in the country’s top five most violent municipalities. This paper will analyze the surge in violence in Guanajuato in 2019, comparing the number of intentional homicide cases with the increasing problem of fuel theft in the state, and describing some of the state and federal government measures to address both issues.

San Diego: Justice in Mexico, University of San Diego, 2020. 28p.