A Pattern of Violence

A Pattern of Violence PDF Author: David Alan Sklansky
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674259696
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
A law professor and former prosecutor reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system—from mass incarceration to police brutality. We take for granted that some crimes are violent and others aren’t. But how do we decide what counts as a violent act? David Alan Sklansky argues that legal notions about violence—its definition, causes, and moral significance—are functions of political choices, not eternal truths. And these choices are central to failures of our criminal justice system. The common distinction between violent and nonviolent acts, for example, played virtually no role in criminal law before the latter half of the twentieth century. Yet to this day, with more crimes than ever called “violent,” this distinction determines how we judge the seriousness of an offense, as well as the perpetrator’s debt and danger to society. Similarly, criminal law today treats violence as a pathology of individual character. But in other areas of law, including the procedural law that covers police conduct, the situational context of violence carries more weight. The result of these inconsistencies, and of society’s unique fear of violence since the 1960s, has been an application of law that reinforces inequities of race and class, undermining law’s legitimacy. A Pattern of Violence shows that novel legal philosophies of violence have motivated mass incarceration, blunted efforts to hold police accountable, constrained responses to sexual assault and domestic abuse, pushed juvenile offenders into adult prisons, encouraged toleration of prison violence, and limited responses to mass shootings. Reforming legal notions of violence is therefore an essential step toward justice.

A Pattern of Violence

A Pattern of Violence PDF Author: David Alan Sklansky
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674259696
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
A law professor and former prosecutor reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system—from mass incarceration to police brutality. We take for granted that some crimes are violent and others aren’t. But how do we decide what counts as a violent act? David Alan Sklansky argues that legal notions about violence—its definition, causes, and moral significance—are functions of political choices, not eternal truths. And these choices are central to failures of our criminal justice system. The common distinction between violent and nonviolent acts, for example, played virtually no role in criminal law before the latter half of the twentieth century. Yet to this day, with more crimes than ever called “violent,” this distinction determines how we judge the seriousness of an offense, as well as the perpetrator’s debt and danger to society. Similarly, criminal law today treats violence as a pathology of individual character. But in other areas of law, including the procedural law that covers police conduct, the situational context of violence carries more weight. The result of these inconsistencies, and of society’s unique fear of violence since the 1960s, has been an application of law that reinforces inequities of race and class, undermining law’s legitimacy. A Pattern of Violence shows that novel legal philosophies of violence have motivated mass incarceration, blunted efforts to hold police accountable, constrained responses to sexual assault and domestic abuse, pushed juvenile offenders into adult prisons, encouraged toleration of prison violence, and limited responses to mass shootings. Reforming legal notions of violence is therefore an essential step toward justice.

The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America

The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America PDF Author: Barry Latzer
Publisher: Encounter Books
ISBN: 1594039305
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
A compelling case can be made that violent crime, especially after the 1960s, was one of the most significant domestic issues in the United States. Indeed, few issues had as profound an effect on American life in the last third of the twentieth century. After 1965, crime rose to such levels that it frightened virtually all Americans and prompted significant alterations in everyday behaviors and even lifestyles. The risk of being mugged was a concern when Americans chose places to live and schools for their children, selected commuter routes to work, and planned their leisure activities. In some locales, people were afraid to leave their dwellings at any time, day or night, even to go to the market. In the worst of the post-1960s crime wave, Americans spent part of each day literally looking back over their shoulders. The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America is the first book to comprehensively examine this important phenomenon over the entire postwar era. It combines a social history of the United States with the insights of criminology and examines the relationship between rising and falling crime and such historical developments as the postwar economic boom, suburbanization and the rise of the middle class, baby booms and busts, war and antiwar protest, the urbanization of minorities, and more.

Popular Crime

Popular Crime PDF Author: Bill James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 141655274X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
Originally published: 2011. With new addendum.

The Anatomy of Violence

The Anatomy of Violence PDF Author: Adrian Raine
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 0307378845
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Book Description
Provocative and timely: a pioneering neurocriminologist introduces the latest biological research into the causes of--and potential cures for--criminal behavior. With an 8-page full-color insert, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.

Random Violence

Random Violence PDF Author: Joel Best
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520215729
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
"A major contribution to the literature on social problems, crime, and social deviance, and a fine example of what is currently the best-established theoretical approach to this material. It is laudably interdisciplinary, draws admirably from 'high' and 'low' culture, and over all asks some very challenging questions."—Philip Jenkins, Pennsylvania State University "Random Violence extends the growing scholarly literature on the social construction of social problems by showing us how currently trendy folk knowledge obscures the most perplexing problems in American society and how it serves to foster a climate of social distrust."—Donileen Loeske, University of South Florida

Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crimes

Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crimes PDF Author: Richard N. Kocsis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1603270493
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
This book brings together an international collection of research literature on the topics of criminal profiling and serial violent crime by integrating the respected insights of both scholars and practitioners from around the globe. It explains etiological factors and psychological mechanisms to reveal criminal motives.

Domestic Crimes, Family Violence and Child Abuse

Domestic Crimes, Family Violence and Child Abuse PDF Author: R. Barri Flowers
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786462452
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Evidence suggests that some forms of domestic crimes are growing at an alarming rate. An epidemic of violence and maltreatment within the home and between intimates exists, often as part of an interrelated cycle: abuse victim becomes violent abuser. This book will be of interest to educators, students and professionals in the fields of child health and welfare, criminal justice, women's studies, gerontology, sociology and related areas. Part I is an introduction on domestic criminality that includes an historical review, demographic studies, and a discussion of medical treatments for victims. Issues such as domestic fatalities, battered women and men, conjugal rape, and abuse of elders are covered in Part II. An examination of child maltreatment by neglect and sexual abuse is discussed in Part III and symptoms of domestic criminality are covered in Part IV. Part V addresses theories, causes, and explanations of domestic violence, attempting to bridge gaps between existing studies. The characteristics of incarcerated domestic criminals are reviewed in Part VI; a discussion of efforts to help victims and decrease the level of domestic violence is provided in Part VII. Notes, suggested additional readings, and a bibliography are included.

Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime

Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime PDF Author: Eric W. Hickey
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761924371
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 646

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Book Description
The Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime is edited by a internationally recognized expert on serial killers, covering both murder and violent crime in their variant forms. Included will be biographies, chronologies, special interest inset boxes, up to 100 photos, comprehensive article bibliographies, and appendices for things like famous unsolved cases, celebrity murders, assasinations, original source documents, and online sources for information.

Serial Violence

Serial Violence PDF Author: Robert D. Keppel
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420066331
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
Linking the murders of an alleged serial killer to successfully present a case in court involves a specific methodology that has been scrutinized by the judicial system but is largely absent in the current literature. Serial Violence: Analysis of Modus Operandi and Signature Characteristics of Killers fully explains the process of finding the nexus

Mental Disorder and Crime

Mental Disorder and Crime PDF Author: Sheilagh Hodgins
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated
ISBN: 9780803950238
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Contributors to this volume present and discuss new data which suggest that major mental disorder substantially increases the risk of violent crime. These findings come at a crucial time, since those who suffer from mental disorders are increasingly living in the community, rather than in institutions. The book describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem and offers hope that humane, effective intervention can prevent violent crime being committed by the seriously mentally disordered.