Introduction to Criminology

A comprehensive introduction to all the key topics, perspectives, and themes that you will cover when studying criminology and criminal justice.

An Introduction to Criminology provides you with a thorough grounding in the main traditions and perspectives within the discipline and introduces cutting edge emerging themes that will shape criminology for years to come. It features insight from over 30 international experts with each chapter written by leading specialists within the field, giving you an in-depth and authoritative account of each vital area of study, from organised crime and victimisation to life-course criminology, prisons, and youth justice.

Key features:

• Covers emerging areas of criminology and contemporary issues such as cybercrime, cultural criminology, hate crime, human trafficking, and gendered violence.
• Contains a range of features to help you study, including case studies and questions, student voices and advice, reflective exercises and more.
• Supports lecturers by providing access to a suite of online resources, featuring exclusive video content from the SAGE Video Criminology Collection, critical thinking exercises, multiple choice tests, and sample essay questions.

Essential reading for any student of criminology, this will be a go-to reference text throughout your studies.

Professor Pamela Davies′ research interests coalesce around gender, crime, harm, victimization and justice. Combining her interest in victimology and social harm with a critical/feminist infused approach she has explored a range of contemporary social problems – both visible and hidden. Her early research explored female offending and the inter-play between women’s offending patterns and experiences of victimization. More recently she has examined tensions around social and environmental justice adopting a case study approach. She has lead a number of research projects and evaluations of multi-agency innovations that tackle gendered forms of harm including interpersonal violence, domestic abuse, the policing of serial perpetrators and support for victims. The ways in which gender mediates our life experiences continues to provoke new areas of inquiry and she is currently working with colleagues on ‘gendering green criminology’. Pam has published widely on the subject of victimization and social harm and on how gender connects to matters of community safety, public protection and well-being. Her most recent books are Crime and Power authored with Tanya Wyatt and Victimology Research Policy and Activism edited with Jacki Tapley. She is the series editor of the Palgrave Macmillan ‘Victims and Victimology’ book series (with Associate Professor Tyrone Kirchengast, University of New South Wales, Sydney). Professor Michael Rowe′s research interests have tended to focus on accountability and governance in policing, and the changing organisation and delivery of policing in relation to diversity, professionalisation, the application of Evidence Based Policing and the challenges of policing in a digital age. A recent project has explored the changing nature of visible policing in relation to the impact of police buildings, material culture and social media on public perceptions of legitimacy and authority, as well as on police officer and staff professional culture and identity. Other projects have examined innovative police responses to domestic violence, organisational and cultural change in the policing of adult sexual assault investigations and the ethical and governance challenges of using scientific research and AI technology in contemporary policing.  He is currently developing work exploring the policing of Anthropocentric climate change. He has published widely on these and related matters in the British Journal of Criminology, Policing and Society, Public Management Review, the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Criminology and Criminal Justice and many other journals. His books include Policing the Police (Policy Press, 2020) and Accountability in Policing: Contemporary Debates (Routledge, 2015, edited with Stuart Lister) and Introduction to Policing (Sage, 2018, third edition). He is editor of the International Journal of Police Science and Management.