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In Their Own Words Criminals On Crime

Criminals on Crime

Fifth Edition

Paul Cromwell


Understanding the "criminal mind" (tactics, motives, psychology) is essential to the effective control and prevention of crime. Yet few undergraduates ever encounter a "real" criminal during their studies. How can students be expected to develop proper measures for the prevention of crime without first understanding the person behind the crime?

Bridging this gap, In Their Own Words: Criminals on Crime, Fifth Edition, provides students with access to the perspective of "the offender." The only book of its kind, this anthology presents ethnographic accounts of gang members, burglars, shoplifters, pimps, prostitutes, killers, robbers, addicts, rapists, drug smugglers, and white-collar offenders--all of whom discuss their motives, perceptions, decision-making strategies, and rationalizations for crime.

In order to help students become more careful, critical practitioners of criminology, the researchers of this volume frame each reading with a helpful introduction that places the criminal's words into a relevant theoretical context. An insightful analysis and conclusion follow each article.

Ideal for courses in criminology, behavior profiling, criminal behavior, and criminal psychology, In Their Own Words: Criminals on Crime, Fifth Edition, provides students with a nuanced perspective on how--and why--offenders make decisions that lead them to commit crimes.

FEATURES OF THE FIFTH EDITION
  • Twelve new chapters (four of which are original contributions)--featuring current material that resonates with students
  • New and expanded coverage of many timely topics including terrorism, identity theft, computer hacking, and drug smuggling
  • A Test Bank containing multiple-choice, essay, and true/false questions for each chapter

    • *=New to this Edition
    Each section opens with an Introduction.
    Preface:
    Acknowledgments:
    About the Contributors:
    SECTION I: CRIMINAL LIFESTYLES AND DECISION MAKING
    1. The Socially Bounded Decision Making of Persistent Property Offenders, Neal Shover and David Honaker
    2. The Reasoning Burglar: Motives and Decision Making Strategies, Paul Cromwell and James N. Olson
    * 3. Opportunities and Decisions: Interactional Dynamics in Robbery and Burglary Groups, Andrew Hochstetler
    SECTION II: PROPERTY CRIME
    * 4. The Key to Auto Theft: Emerging Methods of Auto Theft from the Offender's Perspective, Heith Copes and Michael Cherbonneau
    5. The Five-Finger Discount: An Analysis of Motivations for Shoplifting, Paul Cromwell, Lee Parker, and Shawna Mobley
    * 6. Becoming a Computer Hacker: Examining the Enculturation and Development of Computer Deviants, Thomas J. Holt
    * 7. Identity Theft: Assessing Offenders' Motivations and Strategies, Heith Copes and Lynne Vieraitis
    SECTION III: VIOLENT CRIME
    *8. The New Faces of Terrorism: Socio-Cultural Foundations of Contemporary Terrorism, Jerrold M. Post
    9. Creating the Illusion of Impending Death: Armed Robbers in Action, Richard T. Wright and Scott H. Decker
    * 10. Gendering Violence: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence, Kristin L. Anderson and Debra Umberson
    * 11. Retrospective Accounts of Violent Events by Gun Offenders, Mark R. Pogrebin, Paul B. Stretesky, N. Probha Unnithan, and Gerry Venor
    SECTION IV: OCCUPATIONAL CRIME
    12. Crime on the Line: Telemarketing and the Changing Nature of Professional Crime, Neal Shover, Glenn S. Coffey, and Dick Hobbs
    * 13. Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in a White-Collar Crime, Michael L. Benson
    14. Neutralization and Deviance in the Workplace: Theft of Supplies and Medicines by Hospital Nurses, Dean Dabney
    SECTION V: ILLEGAL OCCUPATIONS
    * 15. The "Myth of Organization" of International Drug Smugglers, Scott H. Decker and Jana Benson
    16. Fencing: Avenues for the Redistribution of Stolen Property, Paul Cromwell and James N. Olson
    17. The Second Step in Double Jeopardy: Appropriating the Labor of Female Street Hustlers, Kim Romenesko and Eleanor M. Miller
    SECTION VI: GANGS AND CRIME
    * 18. Gang-Related Gun Violence: Socialization, Identity, and Self, Paul B. Stretesky and Mark R. Pogrebin
    19. Gender and Victimization Risk Among Young Women in Gangs, Jody Miller
    20. Homeboys, Dope Fiends, Legits and New Jacks, John M. Hagedorn
    SECTION VII: DRUGS AND CRIME
    21. 'E' Is for Ecstasy: A Participant Observation of Ecstasy Use, Wilson R. Palacios and Melissa E. Fenwick
    22. The Drugs-Crime Connection among Stable Addicts, Charles E. Faupel
    * 23. Property Crime and Women Drug Dealers in Australia, Barbara Denton and Pat O'Malley
    * 24. Researching Crack Dealers: Dilemmas and Contradictions, Bruce A. Jacobs
    SECTION VIII: QUITTING CRIME
    25. Aging Criminals: Changes in the Criminal Calculus, Neal Shover

    Edited by Paul Cromwell, Professor of Criminal Justice, Wichita State University

    "I think this approach is not only useful in criminology, sociology, and criminal justice courses, but essential. As is explained in the introduction, students of crime/criminal justice rarely gain exposure to active criminals and the ability to accomplish that safely through a text (and to have the views of said active offenders presented in the context of scholarly analysis) is just plain fantastic. . . . The writing style is clear, accessible, and most importantly, concise. This is the book to use. Students actually read it, engage with it, and carry it outside and beyond the classroom. Plus it's full of top-notch, interesting, important, and timely research. There is nothing else like it on the market." - Sarah Becker, University of Massachusetts, Amherst