Crime, Inequality and Power

Leonard, Eileen

ISBN 10: 1138820563 / ISBN 13: 9781138820562

Published by Routledge (edition 1), 2015

About this Item

It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.

Seller Inventory # 1138820563-11-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Crime, Inequality and Power
• Publisher: Routledge (edition 1)
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1138820563
• ISBN 13: 9781138820562
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1.
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Crime, Inequality and Power challenges the dominant definitions of crime and the criminal through its uniquely comparative approach. In this book Eileen Leonard analyzes multiple forms of criminal behavior in the United States, including violence, sexual assault, theft, and drug law violations, whilst also asking readers to consider the parallels between crimes that are rarely thought comparable. Leonard’s juxtaposition of familiar street crimes, such as car theft, alongside large-scale corporate theft, vividly exposes profound inequalities in the way crime is defined, and the treatment it receives within the criminal justice system.

Leonard’s analysis also reveals the underlying inequalities of race, class, and gender which enable the perpetuation of such crimes, as well as calling into question the reality of fundamental American ideals of fairness and equal justice. Moreover, the book questions whether current policies that punish street crime excessively while minimizing the crimes of the powerful, fail to keep the public safe. A broader consideration of crime, and the inequalities that underlie it, offers a fresh opportunity to rethink public policies and enduring issues of crime and criminal justice.

Challenging the many persistent inequalities in the perception of and response to crime, this critique of American crime and punishment will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars, in the fields of criminology, sociology and law.

About the Author

Eileen B. Leonard is Professor of Sociology at Vassar College, and she teaches a yearly course at Taconic Correctional Facility for Women. Her teaching and research focus on crime, gender, inequality, and social theory. Eileen has chaired the Sociology Department at Vassar College, and been Director of the Women’s Studies Program and the American Studies Program. She is currently Director of Faculty Teaching Development at Vassar.