Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You’re Not to Read 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book is Organized 3
Part I: Defining and Measuring Crime 3
Part II: Identifying Types of Crime 4
Part III: Figuring Out Who Commits Crimes and Why 4
Part IV: Fighting Crime 5
Part V: Prosecuting and Punishing Crime 5
Part VI: The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Defining and Measuring Crime 7
Chapter 1: Entering the World of Crime 9
Defining the Terms: What Crime is and How You Measure It 9
Identifying elements of criminal behavior 10
Gathering crime statistics 10
Recognizing the Various Costs of Crime 11
Noting the financial impact 11
Respecting the price a victim pays 12
Considering Categories of Crime 13
Studying individual crimes 13
Focusing on organized crime 14
Spotlighting terrorism 15
Figuring Out What Makes Someone Commit a Crime 15
Making a rational decision 16
Pointing the finger at society 16
Blaming mental and physical defects 17
Waging a War against Crime 17
Policing the streets 17
Getting the feds involved 18
Working together in task forces 19
Bringing Criminals to Justice 19
Prosecuting crime 19
Determining punishment 20
Giving juveniles special attention 20
Chapter 2: What is Crime? 23
Understanding the Two Categories of Criminal Activity 23
Violating natural laws: Acts that are inherently bad 24
Violating manmade laws: Acts that aren’t inherently bad 25
Identifying Elements of a Criminal Law 25
Distinguishing civil from criminal law 26
Defining felonies and misdemeanors 27
Requiring a physical act 27
Having a guilty mind 28
Linking Criminal Behavior to Cultural Mores 29
Understanding that crimes change over time 29
Recognizing the impact of location 30
Realizing that politics play a role 31
Chapter 3: How Crime is Measured and Why It Matters 33
Gathering Crime Stats: How Much Crime is There? 33
Relying on crime reports 34
Tallying the number of arrests 37
Spotlighting unreported crime: Victimization surveys 40
Accepting the shortcomings of crime statistics 41
Putting Crime Stats to Use 41
Considering the Costs of Crime 43
Funding the justice system 43
Measuring the costs to society and victims 46
Chapter 4: Helping Those in the Wake of Crime: Victims 47
Looking at the Historical Treatment of Victims 47
Identifying the Impact of Crime on Victims 48
Physical scars 48
Emotional effects 49
Economic loss 49
Pinpointing Who is Likely to Be Victimized 50
Expanding Victim Services in the 21st Century 51
Crime victim compensation 51
Support of victim advocates 52
Direct help from private, nonprofit groups 53
Observing the Laws That Protect Victims’ Rights 54
Invoking victims’ rights 54
Enforcing victims’ rights 56
Part II: Identifying Types of Crime 57
Chapter 5: Getting Violent: Crimes of Force 59
Identifying Types of Violent Crimes 59
Defining Homicide 60
Murder 60
Manslaughter 62
Negligent homicide 62
Assisting a suicide 63
Attacking or Threatening Someone: Assault and Battery 63
Vehicular assault 64
Spousal assault 65
Child abuse 66
Forcing Sexual Contact: Rape, Sodomy, and Child Molestation 67
Rape and sodomy 67
Child molestation 68
Taking Property under the Threat of Violence: Robbery 70
Kidnapping 71
Pinpointing Causes of Violence 73
Struggling with drugs and alcohol 73
Feeling the lasting effects of family troubles 74
Suffering from mental problems 75
Being influenced by society 76
Making a personal choice 76
Chapter 6: Hitting You in the Pocketbook: Property Crimes 77
Categorizing Types of Theft 78
Shoplifting 78
Scamming people out of their money 79
Taking personal and credit card information: Identity theft 81
Stealing autos 83
Breaking and entering: Burglary 85
Committing outdoor property theft 86
Defining Property Damage 87
Committing arson 87
Vandalizing property 88
Looking at the Causes of Property Crime 88
Wrestling with drug addiction 88
Making a career choice 90
Being drawn to bright and shiny objects 91
Battling kleptomania 91
Chapter 7: Dressing Sharp and Stealing Big: White-Collar Crimes 93
Identifying Types of White-Collar Crime 93
Stealing from the boss: Embezzlement 94
Evading taxes 95
Selling phony investments: Securities fraud 96
Dumping waste and endangering employees: Environmental crime 97
Cheating business and service clients 98
Cheating consumers: False advertising and price fixing 98
Mixing politics and crime 99
The Challenges of Investigating White-Collar Crime 100
Measuring the costs (in time and money) 101
Facing a dearth of financial investigators 101
Prosecuting and Punishing White-Collar Crime 102
Equating good suits with good verdicts 102
Testing the limits of corporate liability 103
Making punishments fit the crimes 104
Chapter 8: A Group Effort: Organized Crime and Gangs 105
Grasping the Basics of Organized Crime 105
Obsessing over the Italian Mafia 106
Tracing the growth and decline of the Sicilian mob 106
Recognizing the Mafia’s impact on public policy 107
Identifying Other Ethnic-Based Organized Crime Groups 108
Looking at What Organized Crime Groups Do 109
Selling narcotics 110
Marketing counterfeit and pirated products 110
Committing fraud 112
Loan sharking 113
Extorting money 113
Committing violence to support the “business” 114
Laundering money 114
Fighting Organized Crime 115
Using criminal intelligence 115
Overcoming jurisdictional boundaries: Task forces 116
Proving conspiracy 116
Setting up wiretaps 117
Relying on informants 119
Going undercover 120
Taking back the money: Forfeiture 120
Getting an Inside Scoop on Criminal Gangs 121
Youth and street gangs 121
Motorcycle gangs 124
Prison gangs 126
Chapter 9: Tackling a Worldwide Problem: The Narcotics Trade 127
The Global Workings of Dealing Drugs 127
Making drugs illegal 128
Growing plants for the drug trade 129
Mixing chemicals for the drug trade 133
Moving dope to your neighborhood 134
Treating Drug Users 137
Examining types of treatment 139
Using drug courts 140
Shifting treatment goals 140
Preventing Drug Use 141
Educating the public142
Testing for drugs 142
Chapter 10: Front-Page News: Terrorism 145
Recognizing Types of Terrorist Threats 146
Striking as an organization 146
Acting alone 146
Choosing a weapon 147
Facing International Terrorist Threats 148
Al Qaeda 149
Hezbollah 150
Hamas 151
Dealing with Domestic Antigovernment Groups 151
Identifying violent threats 152
Using paper crimes 152
Focusing on Single-Issue Terrorists 153
Committing crimes to save animals 153
Fighting for the environment 154
Targeting abortion 155
Acting out of hate 156
Fighting Back against Terrorism 157
Eliminating terrorist motivation 157
Eliminating operational capability: Law enforcement’s role 158
Part III: Figuring Out Who Commits Crimes and Why 159
Chapter 11: What Factors Lead to Crime? 161
Noting Personal Characteristics That Many Criminals Share 161
Age: Seeing crime as a young person’s game 162
Gender: Men take first place in crime 164
Income: Does less money in your pocket lead to more crime? 165
Race: Does skin color influence criminality, or is racism to blame? 166
Education: Higher degrees equal lower crime rates 169
Religious affiliation: The benefits of practicing a faith 169
Looking at the Impact of Societal Conditions on Crime 170
Pop culture: Inspiring violence through entertainment 170
A bad economy: Does recession lead to crime? 171
Your zip code: Identifying regional differences in crime rates 173
Studying the Impact of Atmospheric Changes 176
Chapter 12: Regarding Crime as a Rational Decision: Rational Choice Theory 177
Taking a Quick Tour through Classical Theory 177
Calculating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Crime 178
Analyzing risks and rewards 178
Choosing the type and place of crime 180
Factoring in personality and skills 181
Meeting the offender’s needs 181
Creating Rational Deterrents to Crime 182
Running the risk of being caught (and punished) 182
Increasing the severity of punishment 184
Aiming for speedy punishment 184
Preventing the rewards 186
Examining the Limits of Rational Choice Theory 186
Considering humans who behave irrationally 186
Seeing how crime often pays 188
Dealing with the values gap 188
Chapter 13: Looking at Society’s Role in Crime 189
Introducing Social Disorganization Theory 189
Studying Strain Theory 190
Anomie theory 191
General strain theory 191
Institutional anomie theory 192
Subculture theories 193
Considering Social Learning Theories 194
Differential association theory 194
Techniques of neutralization theory 195
Delving into Social Control Theories 196
Containment theory 196
Social bond theory 197
Chapter 14: Can Your Mind or Body Make You a Criminal? 199
Biological Positivism: Trying to Link Appearance to Crime 199
Wrestling with the Influence of Genetics 200
Figuring out how parents influence criminal behavior 201
Creating criminals through evolution 202
Blaming the Brain 202
Eating a poor diet 202
Grappling with the wrong brain chemistry 204
Having a low IQ 204
Struggling with Mental Illness 204
Dealing with a Personality Disorder 205
Focusing on antisocial personality disorder 206
Distinguishing psychopaths 206
Chapter 15: Critical Theory: Theories off the Beaten Path 209
Labeling Someone a Criminal 210
Changing someone’s self-image 210
Erasing the criminal label 211
Finding the theory’s weakness 212
Exploring Feminist Theory 212
Examining Leftist Realism: A Response to Law and Order 213
Making Peace 215
Seeking Healing through Restorative Justice 216
Encouraging justice within a community 216
Debating treatment versus incarceration 217
Part IV: Fighting Crime 219
Chapter 16: Battling Crime at the Local Level 221
Keeping the Streets Clean: The Players at the Local Level 221
Distinguishing sheriffs from police chiefs 221
Driving the streets: Patrol officers 223
Focusing on neighborhoods: Community officers 224
Supervising patrol officers: Sergeants 224
Investigating crimes: Detectives 225
Giving police officers special assignments 226
Counting on civilian employees 227
Greater than the sum of their parts: Task forces 228
Bringing in citizen cops: Reserves 228
Thinking about Theories of Policing 229
Policing at the community level 229
Fixing broken windows 231
Adopting intelligence-led policing 232
Chapter 17: Tackling Crime at the Federal Level 235
Sorting through the Alphabet Soup of Federal Agencies 235
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 236
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) 238
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 239
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 240
Secret Service 241
U.S. Marshals Service 242
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 242
Other federal law enforcement agencies 243
Coordinating Federal and Local Efforts 244
Working with local law enforcement 244
Federal funding: Tapping federal resources to maximize effect 245
Chapter 18: Solving Crimes: The Process 247
Responding to a Crime Scene 247
Interviewing witnesses 248
Interrogating suspects 249
Gathering physical evidence 250
Writing a report 251
Using Special Crime-Fighting Tools and Techniques 252
Conducting crime scene investigations 254
Applying for search warrants 255
Analyzing computers, cellphones, and other electronic evidence 256
Administering lie detector tests 257
Looking for fingerprints 258
Testing DNA 259
Comparing handwriting 262
Studying blood stain patterns 262
Collecting cell tower evidence 264
Reconstructing an accident 264
Part V: Prosecuting and Punishing Crime 265
Chapter 19: Seeking Justice: The Players and Their Roles 267
Prosecutors: Guardians of Safety 267
Charging crimes 268
Helping with investigations 270
Weighing ethical responsibilities 270
Fulfilling additional duties 271
Defense Attorneys: Guardians of Liberty 272
Hiring a public or private defender 272
Facing ethical dilemmas 274
Trial Judges: Overseeing the Justice Process 274
Authorizing cops to search 275
Keeping cases moving 275
Presiding over a trial 277
Sentencing the defendant 278
Appellate Judges: Setting egal Precedents 279
Looking for procedural errors 280
Wading through the final layers of appeal 281
Chapter 20: Finding the Truth: Pleading Guilty or Going to Trial 283
Keeping It Local: Municipal Courts 283
Movin’ On Up: State Court Systems 284
Affecting the Whole Nation: The Federal Court System 285
Negotiating a Plea Agreement 286
Determining the strength of the evidence 287
Figuring out time in custody 287
Considering victim compensation 288
Working out probation conditions 288
Suppressing Evidence (Or Not): The Pretrial Hearing 289
Determining whether a search was legal 289
Taking a look at the confessions of a defendant 290
Facing a Jury (Or a Judge): The Process 291
Choosing trial by jury or by judge 291
Selecting a jury 291
Making opening statements 292
Proving the state’s case 292
Conducting direct examinations 293
Displaying physical exhibits 294
Cross-examining witnesses 294
Putting on a defense 295
Hearing closing arguments 298
Reaching a verdict 299
Chapter 21: Punishing the Guilty: Why and How Society Does It 301
Understanding Theories of Punishment and Incarceration 302
Seeking retribution, not personal revenge 302
Deterring future crimes 302
Protecting society: Incapacitation 303
Aiming for rehabilitation and restoration 303
Combining the theories 304
Placing Defendants in Custody 304
Going to a local jail 304
Heading to state prison 306
Facing federal prison 309
Serving time in Private Prison, Inc 310
Facing Challenges in the Prison System 311
Controlling contraband 311
Dealing with inmate violence 312
Implementing treatment and education programs 314
Covering the cost of imprisonment 316
Placing Defendants on Probation 316
The probation offi cer’s role 317
Probation violations and their effects 318
Debating the Death Penalty 318
The crimes you can die for 319
The rules of a capital case 320
The execution process 321
Arguments for or against the death penalty 322
Chapter 22: Examining the Juvenile Justice System 325
Taking a Look Back: The Historical Treatment of Juveniles 325
Why Juveniles are Treated Differently 326
Walking through the Juvenile Justice Process 328
Speaking the language of the juvenile justice system 328
Introducing the key players 329
Arresting and detaining a juvenile 331
Filing a petition — Or not 331
Adjudicating a case 332
Proceeding to disposition 333
Facing probation 334
Treating a Juvenile like an Adult 335
Eyeing Modern Trends in Juvenile Justice 335
Part VI: The Part of Tens 337
Chapter 23: Ten Jobs to Consider in Criminal Justice 339
Police Officer 339
Corrections Officer 341
Forensic Scientist 342
Computer Forensic Specialist 343
Crime and Intelligence Analysts 344
Probation Officer 345
Juvenile Counselor 345
Crime Victim Advocate 346
Legal or Law Enforcement Secretary 347
Court Reporter 347
Chapter 24: Ten Notorious, Unsolved Crimes 349
The JonBenet Ramsey Murder 349
The Sam Sheppard Case 350
The Zodiac Killer 351
The Murder of Robert Blake’s Wife 353
The Murder of Seattle Prosecutor Tom Wales 353
The D. B. Cooper Hijacking 354
The Black Dahlia Murder 356
The Jack the Ripper Killings 356
The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa 357
The Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. 358
Index 359
Steven Briggs is a career prosecutor and nationally recognized lecturer on law enforcement and criminal law topics. He has trained many organizations, including the National District Attorneys Association, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Russian-American Rule of Law Consortium. He is also an adjunct professor of criminal justice.
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