http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
"If you are considering a career in any aspect of criminal justice, and you want to know more about the motivations and socio-psychological makeup of serious offenders, then this book is for you! Introduction to Criminology: Why Do They Do It? applies the dominant theories in the existing criminological literature as to why people commit crimes. In addition, we examine many recent (as well as many hypothetical) examples of serious crimes, and we demonstrate applications of theory as to why the offenders did what they did. While other textbooks do a decent job in discussing the basic theories, as well as exploring the various types of crime, our book integrates various street crimes within each chapter and applies theories that are appropriate in explaining such criminal activity. This is extremely important because most instructors never get to the latter typology chapters in a given semester or term. So our approach is to incorporate them into the theoretical chapters in which they apply directly to the theories presented. Our specific examples and true stories, such as notable serial killings and other recent crimes, in each chapter, as well as our use of established theoretical models to explain the offenses, is another primary distinction of this book. Obviously, this book is meant to be central to an introductory course in criminology, but due to the emphasis on applied theoretical explanations, it is also appropriate for higher-level undergraduate and graduate courses in criminological theory or as a reference for anyone in the field of criminal justice. In it, we have integrated true crimes (and some hypothetical examples) both on a general level, such as in the Applying Crime to Theory sections, and more specifically-in the Why Do They Do It? sections, which often involve serial killings, mass murderers, or other notorious examples of offenders/offending. The subtitle of our book-Why Do They Do It?-relates to our theme. Our goal in writing this book was to apply established theories of crime, which are often seen as abstract and hypothetical, to real crimes that have occurred, as well as to hypothetical ones that are quite likely to occur. To this end, we explore the various reasons for offending, or the "why they do it" in various cases, from the first documented serial killers in the United States-the Harpe Brothers in the late 18th century-to California cop-killer/spree-killer Christopher Dorner in 2013 and then Payton S. Gendron, who massacred 10 Black shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in 2022. Importantly, throughout these discussions of actual crimes we will apply theories. As you will see, some of the theories that applied to the earliest crimes seem to apply to the most modern crimes as well. Unlike other authors in this field, we chose not to include separate chapters on violent or property crimes because we have worked those into and applied them to the theories explored in each chapter. We strongly believe that by integrating discussions of such serious crimes-all crimes previously identified by the FBI as Index or Part I offenses, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor-vehicle theft, larceny, and arson, as well as other crimes such as simple assault and driving under the influence-into the theoretical chapters provides the best exploration of why people commit such offenses. And the flip side is good as well; by discussing offenses together with theories, we show you how to apply theories toward explaining other instances of criminal behavior. Again, this goes back to our theme of "why do they do it?" It demonstrates our goal: Apply the appropriate theories for the specific crime"--
Pamela J. Schram, California State University, San Bernardino, Joseph A. Schwartz, Florida State University, Stephen G. Tibbetts, Radford University.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 465-517) and index.
Thousand Oaks, California : Sage, [2025]