Ian Marsh - Crime and Criminal Justice

Crime and Criminal Justice provides students with a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the study of criminology by taking an interdisciplinary approach to explaining criminal behaviour and criminal justice.

The book is divided into two parts, which address the two essential bases that form the discipline of criminology. Part One describes, discusses and evaluates a range of theoretical approaches that have offered explanations for crime, drawing upon contributions from the disciplines of sociology, psychology, and biology. It then goes on to apply these theories to specific forms of criminality. Part Two offers an accessible but detailed review of the major philosophical aims and sociological theories of punishment, and examines the main areas of the contemporary criminal justice system including the police, the courts and judiciary, prisons, and more recent approaches to punishment.

Presenting a clear and thorough review of theoretical thinking on crime, and of the context and current workings of the criminal justice system, this book provides students with an excellent grounding in the study of Criminology.

Ian Marsh is Principal Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool Hope University and is a widely published textbook author. His recent publications include Theories of Crime (Routledge 2006 with Gaynor Melville, Keith Morgan, Gareth Norris and Zoe Walkington), Criminal Justice: An Introduction to Philosophies, Theories and Practice (Routledge 2004 with Gaynor Melville and John Cochrane), Sociology: Making Sense of Society (4th edn, Pearson, 2009), and Crime, Justice and the Media (Routledge 2009 with Gaynor Melville).

Gaynor Melville is Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool Hope University. She has co-written and contributed to a number of books including Crime, Justice and the Media (Routledge 2009), Theories of Crime (Routledge 2006) and Criminal Justice (Routledge 2004).

Keith Morgan is Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Psychology at Liverpool Hope University and contributed to Theories of Crime (Routledge 2006).

Gareth Norris is Lecturer in Criminology at Aberystwyth University and contributed to Theories of Crime (Routledge 2006).

John Cochrane is Lecturer in History and Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University and contributed to Criminal Justice (Routledge 2004).

First published 2011

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2011 Ian Marsh, Gaynor Melville, Keith Morgan, Gareth Norris and John Cochrane

The rights of Ian Marsh, Gaynor Melville, Keith Morgan, Gareth Norris and John Cochrane to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crime and criminal justice / by Ian Marsh [et al.].
p. cm.
1. Criminology. 2. Criminal behavior. 3. Criminal justice, Administration of.
I. Marsh, Ian, 1952
HV6025.C678 2011
364dc22

2010039195

ISBN: 978-0-415-58151-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 9780415581523 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-83378-0 (ebk)

The intention of this book is to provide students (and tutors) with an interdisciplinary approach to explaining criminal behaviour and criminal justice. Its aim is to encourage students to develop a deeper understanding of classic and contemporary theorizing about crime and of the context and current working of the criminal justice system.

The book consists of two main parts the first focused on explaining criminal behaviour and the second on criminal justice. Essentially, these two areas form the basis of the discipline of Criminology, so the book will provide a thorough grounding in that subject area that is suitable for a wide range of Criminology and related courses.

The first part describes and reflects on a range of theoretical approaches that have offered explanations for crime and applies them to specific forms of criminality.

, by Ian Marsh and Gaynor Melville, offers a similar approach to considering the criminal behaviour of ethnic minority groups. After reviewing the patterns and trends in ethnic minority criminality, it looks at explanations under two main categories: first, ethnic minority, and especially black, crime is a social reality and the reasons for the greater criminality amongst such groups needs to be examined; second, that the criminal justice system is biased against certain ethnic minority groups and this can explain the higher rate of crime amongst such groups.

The second part provides an examination of the historical, philosophical and theoretical context of criminal justice followed by a systematic overview of the major criminal justice agencies. , written by John Cochrane, relates and applies these and other theoretical approaches to the history of the policies and practices of crime and justice. Essentially it tries to understand this history in terms of the nature of the particular governments and societies responsible for introducing these policies and practices. , written by Gaynor Melville, shifts the focus to an examination of the role of the victim within the criminal justice system. It charts the emergence of the discipline of victimology and considers the main theoretical positions within it. In doing this, it distinguishes between victims of different forms of criminal behaviour, with a particular focus on victims of domestic violence (private crime) and of corporate crime (public crime).