Criminological Perspectives: A Reader (Published in association with The Open University)

A remarkably timely collection, Criminological Perspectives adds to the current excitement and activity in criminology and both reflects and represents numerous and diverse lines of theoretical inquiry that constitutes criminology. This accessible set of edited readings introduces students to the eclectic nature of criminological knowledge and prompts readers to critically approach not only its elements but also the very essence of the criminological enterprise. The volume covers the gamut of issues, including the origins of criminology, criminology′s historic concern to discover the causes of crime, and what distinguishes a criminal act from an act that goes unnoticed. The notable contributors also examine the competing rationales for systems of crime control and the formal processes of regulation and surveillance in the community. This valuable collection concludes by pondering the future of criminology and its further potential for theoretical development. Comprehensive and lively reading, Criminological Perspectives provides students of criminology and sociology with a set of readings that are important to apprehending the basics of criminology.

John Muncie is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the Open University, UK. He is the author of Youth and Crime (5th edition, Sage, 2021), and he has published widely on issues in comparative youth justice and children’s rights, including the co-edited companion volumes Youth Crime and Justice and Comparative Youth Justice (Sage, 2006). He has produced numerous Open University texts and readers, including Crime: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), Criminal Justice: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), The Problem of Crime (2nd edition, Sage, 2001), Crime Prevention and Community Safety (Sage, 2001) and Imprisonment: European Perspectives (Harvester, 1991). He has also contributed nine volumes to the The Sage Library of Criminology (Sage, 2007–2009). He is co-editor of the Sage journal Youth Justice: An International Journal.

Eugene McLaughlin is Professor of Criminology and co-director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Research. He is also a member of the Centre for Law Justice and Journalism. He completed his postgraduate criminology studies at the University of Cambridge and the University of Sheffield. Eugene has held various academic appointments including at the University of Hong Kong, the Open University and the University of Southampton. He has also been Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, the Department of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. He is an associate editor of Crime, Media and Cultureand is on the editorial board of Criminal Justice Matters. He has served on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Criminology, Critical Social Policy, the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice and was co-editor of Theoretical Criminology.