RIT Libraries Recent Acquisitions - Criminaljustice

There is a Gunman on Campus : Tragedy and Terror at Virginia Tech / [edited By] Ben Agger and Timothy W. Luke

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: On April 16, 2007, a Virginia Tech student killed 32 of his classmates and professors and then turned the gun on himself. The media focused their power and our attention on the campus, the students and faculty of Virginia Tech, and the gunman and his victims. But we have yet to understand fully what happened in Blacksburg. There is a Gunman on Campus brings our thoughts back to the shocking campus shootings and the public reactions to the event, shining needed light on what occurred at the university, how American society reacted, and how it all fits into contemporary culture.

Added: Thursday, Oct 2 2008

Punishing Persistent Offenders : Exploring Community and Offender Perspectives / Julian V. Roberts

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Despite very diverse approaches towards punishing crime, all Western jurisdictions punish repeat offenders more harshly (a practice known as the recidivist sentencing premium) . For many repeat offenders, their previous convictions have more impact on the penalty they receive than the seriousness of their current crime. Why do we punish recidivists more harshly? Some sentencing theorists argue that offenders should be punished only for the crimes they commit - not for the crimes committed and paid for in the past. From this perspective, punishing repeat offenders more severely amounts to double punishment. Having been punished once for an offence, the recidivist will pay for the crime again every time he re-offends. Is this fair? This volume explores the nature and consequences of the recidivist sentencing premium on both the theoretical and empirical levels. It begins by exploring the justifications for treating repeat offenders more harshly, and then provides examples of the practice from a number of jurisdictions including England and Wales, Canada, and the United States. Particular attention is paid to the views of two important groups: convicted offenders and the general public. If offenders believe that the recidivist sentencing premium is unjustified, they are less likely to accept the legitimacy of the justice system. As for members of the public, it is important to know whether this key element of the sentencing process is consistent with community views.

Added: Thursday, Oct 2 2008

Value, Belief and Experience in Women's Jail-based Adult Education / Alexandria N. Mageehon ; Edited By Catherine L. Tracy

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: This research monograph discusses women's jail based adult education. Discusses education in detention, women's prior educational experiences, their hopes and expectations,social support etc. recommendations and implications are included plus data on recidivism and adult participation.

Added: Thursday, Oct 2 2008

Homicide and Gun Control : the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and Homicide Rates / Jeffrey D. Monroe

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Monroe investigates the success of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act at reducing homicide. Using data from the 1989 1997 Uniform Crime Reports: Supplemental Homicide Reports, Monroe conducts differences-in-differences-in-differences (DDD) analyses. Monroe s results indicate that Brady had no effect on overall adult homicide rates and caused a statistically insignificant decline in adult handgun homicide rates. Contrary to an anticipated substitution effect wherein the use of long guns in homicide would increase as handguns became more difficult to acquire Brady s implementation is significantly related to a decrease in the use of rifles, shotguns and other non-handgun firearms to commit homicide.

Added: Thursday, Oct 2 2008

Criminological Thought : Pioneers Past and Present / Robert J. Mutchnick, Randy Martin, W. Timothy Austin

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Added: Wednesday, Oct 1 2008

Death Penalty USA 2003 - 2004 / Michelangelo Delfino and Mary E. Day

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: The United States is after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, the fifth most active country in sanctioning capital punishment - the execution of a convicted criminal by the State. Between January 2003 and December 2004, 124 men were executed by the people of the United States for the stated purpose of deterrence and retribution. The Supreme Court of the United States has said that its citizens know almost nothing about capital punishment. Reading the horrific crimes described in this volume, the second in a series of books documenting the most recent U.S. capital crime and punishment cases, will help you decide if the U.S. government's promise of justice for a life wrongfully taken is being kept.

Added: Thursday, Sep 25 2008

A Typology of Domestic Violence : Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situational Couple Violence / Michael P. Johnson

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Domestic violence, a serious and far-reaching social problem, has generated two key debates among researchers. The first debate is about gender and domestic violence. Some scholars argue that domestic violence is primarily male-perpetrated, others that women are as violent as men in intimate relationships. Johnson's response to this debate--and the central theme of this book--is that there is more than one type of intimate partner violence. Some studies address the type of violence that is perpetrated primarily by men, while others are getting at the kind of violence that women areinvolved in as well. Because there has been no theoretical framework delineating types of domestic violence, researchers have easily misread one another's studies. The second major debate involves how many women are abused each year by their partners. Estimates range from two to six million. Johnson's response once again comes from this book's central theme. If there is more than one type of intimate partner violence, then the numbers depend on what type you're talking about. Johnson argues that domestic violence is not a unitary phenomenon. Instead, he delineates three major, dramatically different, forms of partner violence: intimate terrorism, violent resistance, and situational couple violence. He roots the conceptual distinctions among the forms of violence in an analysis of the role of power and control in relationship violence and shows that the failure to make these basic distinctions among types of partner violence has produced a research literature that is plagued by both overgeneralizations and ostensibly contradictory findings. This volume begins the work of theorizing forms of domestic violence, a crucial first step to a better understanding of these phenomena among scholars, social scientists, policy makers, and service providers.

Added: Wednesday, Sep 17 2008

Copyright Law in a Nutshell / By Mary LaFrance

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Coverage ranges from the fundamental concepts of originality, authorship, and infringement, to the highly technical rules governing digital phonorecord deliveries and digital public performance rights in sound recordings, the safe harbor provisions that limit the liability of internet service providers, and the anti-circumvention and copyright management information provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The ever-evolving doctrines of fair use and contributory liability are given thorough attention.

Added: Wednesday, Sep 17 2008

Understanding and Preventing Campus Violence / Edited By Michele A. Paludi

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: The recent shootings at Virginia Tech brought issues surrounding campus violence to the forefront once again. But campuses have always had problems with stalking, sexual harassment, bullying, rape, robbery, burglary, and intimate partner violence, among other things. In fact, the incidence rates of campus violence are quite startling. For example, the incidence of sexual harassment among undergraduate students ranges between 20 and 80 percent each year. Between 8 and 15 percent of college women say they have been raped. And battering occurs in up to a third of all couples in dating relationships in the U.S. Fortunately, there are solutions to the problem of campus violence. In Understanding and Preventing Campus Violence, Michele Paludi and a host of experts detail preventive procedures as well as methods to stay safer on campus. In Understanding and Preventing Campus Violence, experts in law, HR/employment policy, psychology, criminal justice, and education offer sage, real-world advice to campus administrators, parents, students and employees on how to prevent and manage campus violence. It offers insights into the reasons behind violent acts, prevention techniques, methods students can use to protect themselves, and therapeutic techniques for the following types of violence: -Bullying -Sexual harassment -Cyberstalking and cyberharassment -Intimate partner violence -Rape -Homicide -Robberies and other violent crimes The book also addresses the legal responsibilities of schools, as well as the psychological fallout on people in the aftermath of violence. Featuring interviews with student-victims, and providing sample policies and training programs, Understanding and Preventing Campus Violence will help students learn to spot situations of potential violence, help teachers use classroom excercises to raise awareness and prevent future violence, and help college administrators and managers learn to safeguard the people and assets in their care.

Added: Wednesday, Sep 17 2008

Cyber Bullying : Bullying in the Digital Age / Robin M. Kowalski, Susan P. Limber, and Patricia W. Agatston

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Cyber bullying has become more prevalent through the use of e-mail, instant messages, chat rooms, and other digital messaging systems. It brings with it unique challenges. Cyber Bullying provides the most current and essential information on the nature and prevalence of this epidemic, providing educators, parents, psychologists and policy-makers with critical prevention techniques and strategies for effectively addressing electronic bullying. * Provides an empirically-based resource with up-to-date information about the nature and prevalence of cyber bullying through the use of email, instant messages, chat rooms, and other digital messaging systems * Examines the role of anonymity in electronic bullying * Includes feedback from focus groups and individual interviews with students and parents * Offers a handy reference with practical strategies for educators, parents, psychologists and policy makers about prevention and intervention of cyber bullying

Added: Friday, Sep 12 2008

Juvenile Sex Offenders : What the Public Needs to Know / Camille Gibson and Donna M. Vandiver

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Despite the fact that media bombard the public with the notion that sex offenders are everywhere-and could be just next door--official sources show that official sex offense rates have been steadily declining over the past 10 years. Yet, when a juvenile is accused of a sexually-based crime, media attention is swift and relentless. The truth about juvenile sex offenders is often, therefore, misunderstood. In many cases, such offenders are victims themselves. Here, Gibson and Vandiver reveal the truth about juvenile sex offenders and what can be done to help them and to prevent the cycle of abuse that leads to such tragic outcomes. This book sets the records straight about juvenile sex offending. It provides accurate, up-to-date statistics, real life cases, and information about offender characteristics, victim characteristics, family factors, social issues, media involvement, and other related areas. It offers explanations for juvenile sex offending from a variety of perspectives and reviews legal and criminal responses to the problem. Included are discussions of female offenders, punitive measures to prevent repeat offenses, and other steps the federal government and individual states are taking to address the problem. The authors conclude with advice on how to protect children from becoming victims and how to prevent sexual offending in the first place.

Added: Monday, Sep 8 2008

Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures : a Psychological and Behavioral Analysis / Edited By J. Reid Meloy, Lorraine Sheridan, Jens Hoffmann

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Public figures require attention, whether from a constituency who votes them in or out of office, shareholders who decide their economic benefit to the corporation, or fans who judge their performances. However, on the periphery of this normal attention resides a very real risk; that of a much smaller group of individuals who lack the ability to discriminate between their own private fantasies and the figure's public behavior. They may be personally insulted by perceived betrayal, fanatically in love due to a perceived affectionate or sexual invitation, or simply preoccupied with the daily life of the public figure. Such individuals may fixate and do nothing more. Others communicate or approach in a disturbing way. A few will threaten. And on rare occasions, one will breach the public figure's security perimeter and attack. Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures is a comprehensive survey of the current knowledge about stalking, violence risk, and threat management towards public figures. With contributions from forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, clinicians, researchers, attorneys, profilers, and current and former law enforcement enforcement professionals, this book is the first of its kind, international in scope, and rich in both depth and complexity. The book is divided into three sections which, in turn, focus upon defining, explaining, and risk managing this increasingly complex global reality. Chapters include detailed case studies, analyses of quantitative data, reflections from attachment theory and psychoanalytic thought, descriptions of law enforcement and protective organization activities, mental health and psychiatric categorizations and understandings, consideration of risk assessment models and variables, victim perspectives, and others.

Added: Friday, Aug 22 2008

Out of Control : Assessing the General Theory of Crime / Edited By Erich Goode

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Description: Out of Control promises to be a key supplemental textbook in criminology and sociology courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. Providing an indispensable overview of Gottfredson and Hirschi's influential self-control theory, this fundamental text evaluates whether the theory truly helps us to understand the facts of crime. A range of prominent criminologists offers diverse views in fifteen original essays, providing students with the first proper assessment of self-control theory. This lucid book addresses important general considerations relevant to the theory, its relationship to other theories of crime, and its relevance to different types of crime. The book ends with a response from the originators of the theory, who tackle their critics' concerns and offer new explanations and revisions. This compelling text will be an asset for academics, researchers, and students interested in explaining criminal behavior.

Added: Tuesday, Aug 19 2008

Victimology and Criminal Law : Crime Precipitated or Programmed By the Victim / Edmundo Oliveira

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Added: Wednesday, Aug 6 2008

Surveying Victims : Options for Conducting the National Crime Victimization Survey / Panel to Review the Programs of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Committee on National Statistics, Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Scienc

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Added: Wednesday, Aug 6 2008