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The Explanation of Crime
By
Per-Olof H. Wikstrom, Robert J. Sampson
Description
Integration of
disciplines, theories and research orientations has assumed a central
role in criminological discourse yet it remains difficult to identify
any concrete discoveries or significant breakthroughs for which
integration has been responsible. Concentrating on three key
concepts: context, mechanisms, and development, this volume aims to
advance integrated scientific knowledge on crime causation by
bringing together different scholarly approaches. Through an analysis
of the roles of behavioural contexts and individual differences in
crime causation, The Explanation of Crime seeks to provide a unified
and focused approach to the integration of knowledge. Chapter topics
range from individual genetics to family environments and from
ecological behaviour settings to the macro-level context of
communities and social systems. This is a comprehensive treatment of
the problem of crime causation which will appeal to graduate students
and researchers in criminology and be of great interest to
policy-makers and practitioners in crime policy and prevention.
• Presents an
overview of key approaches to the explanation of crime •
Provides a foundation of knowledge about the causes of crime for
those interested in policy-making and practice in the field of crime
prevention • Will appeal to students who want to go beyond
standard textbook treatments of the causes of crime
Contents
Introduction:
Toward a unified approach to crime and its explanation Per-Olof H.
Wikström and Robert J. Sampson; 1. A systematic perspective on
crime Mario Bunge; 2. How does community context matter? Social
mechanisms and the explanation of crime rates Robert J. Sampson; 3.
Individuals, settings and acts of crime: situational mechanisms and
the explanation of crime Per-Olof H. Wikström; 4. Evidence from
behavioral genetics for environmental contributions to antisocial
conduct Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi; 5. A three-dimensional,
cumulative developmental model of serious delinquency Rolf Loeber, N.
Wim Slot and Magda Stouthamer-Loeber; 6. Self-control and social
control of deviant behavior in context: development and interactions
along the life course Marc LeBlanc; 7. Desistance, social bonds and
human agency: a theoretical explanation Anthony Bottoms.
Reviews
‘This is a
terrific book. With its focus on different situational mechanisms
linking social contexts to individual actions, it will appeal not
only to criminologists but also to sociologists and other social
scientists interested in explaining why individuals do what they do.’
Peter Hedström, Nuffield College, Oxford
‘The essays
in this volume are amongst the most stimulating and original
collections so far published, focusing explicitly on the theoretical
foundations of developmental criminology. They take the analyses way
beyond risk factors and a preoccupation with statistical
sophistication to address the core questions of the processes through
which human beings across the lifecourse shape and are shaped by
their environments, and how individual factors and social contexts at
multiple levels can be theorized simultaneously. In short, the
authors provide a range of powerful new tools for thinking creatively
about pathways into and out of crime.’ Ross Homel, Foundation
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University,
Australia
‘This first
volume in the \\\'Pathways in Crime\\\' series is a very timely book. It
will definitely enhance scholarly debate in international criminology
and significantly add to progress in empirical research on the
complex dynamics of crime causation and control. By means of
addressing an integrating/integrative approach with three key
concepts: \\\'context\\\', \\\'mechanisms\\\', and \\\'development\\\', Per-Olof H.
Wikström and Robert J. Sampson as editors and authors, together
with the other internationally highly renowned authors, have been
extremely successful in delineating a unified scholarly perspective
of the dynamic interplay of behavioural contexts and individual
differences in crime causation. This will also considerably influence
practitioners and policy-makers in the field of community crime
prevention.’ Hans-J. Kerner, Director of the Institut für
Kriminologie, Universität Tübingen
‘In the last
25 years, the idea of \\\'integration\\\' in criminology has been bandied
about as the wave of the future of the field, but nowhere has this
concept been embraced with such vigour or commitment as displayed in
The Explanation of Crime: Context, Mechanisms, and Development edited
by Per-Olof H. Wikström and Robert J. Sampson. Assembling a
stellar group of first-rate scholars representing a wide range of
disciplinary interests, this volume is organized around three of the
most important concepts in the understanding of crime – social
context, mechanisms (processes), and individual development. A
variety of fundamental topics including models of scientific
explanation, the role of community context, situational mechanisms,
behavioural genetics and environmental contributions, developmental
risk and serious delinquency, self-control and social control, and
desistance from crime are covered here and each in a provocative and
innovative manner. Each author challenges the reader and often
encourages them to disagree, all for the sake of a better
understanding of crime. In a field that has become increasingly timid
and afraid of bold ideas, this volume is a welcome relief. I highly
recommend this book to anyone interested in cross-level knowledge of
crime.’ John H. Laub, Department of Criminology, University of
Maryland
Contributors
Per-Olof H.
Wikström, Robert J. Sampson, Mario Bunge, Terrie Moffitt,
Avshalom Caspi, Rolf Loeber, N. Wim Slot, Magda Stouthamer-Loeber,
Marc LeBlanc, Anthony Bottoms
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