Further Readings
Chapter 1
O’Grady, William, Parnaby, Patrick, and Schikschneit, Justine. (2010). “Guns, Gangs, and the Underclass: A Constructionist Analysis of Gun Violence in a Toronto High School,” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice (February), 52 (1), 55–77.
The perspective in the paper is consistent with the social-reaction approach to understanding and defining crime.
Doyle, Aaron. (2006). “How Not to Think about Crime in the Media,” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice (October), 48 (6), 867–885.
The author reviews research that examines the relationship between how crime is covered in the mass media and the influence this has upon society.
Chapter 2
O’Grady, Bill. (2014). “A Comparative Analysis of Homicide in Canada and the United States” in Agger, Ben, and Luke, Tim (Eds.) Gun Violence and Public Life. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
This chapter compares homicide in Canada and the United States. The article presents explanations of why homicide rates are higher in the United States than they are in Canada. The paper then reviews research that explores why levels of homicide have been declining in both countries since the mid-1990s.
Anderson, Martin. (2009). “Crime Specialization across the Canadian Provinces,” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 51 (1), 31–54.
For years, official statistics have revealed that rates of police-reported crimes in Canada generally increase from east to west. Using an alternative measure of crime, this article challenges this suggestion.
Chapter 3
Video Games and Aggression
Huesmann, L Rowell. (2010) “Nailing the Coffin Shut on Doubts That Violent Video Games Stimulate Aggression: Comment on Anderson et al.,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 136 (2), 179–181.
Over the years there has been much debate about the effect that playing video games has on aggression. This article suggests that the impact is complex, but research suggests that there is a strong impact immediately after playing video games, but weaker long-term effects.
Evolutionary Psychology
Parnaby, Patrick F, and Buffone, Sonya. (2013). “Darwin Meets the King: Blending evolutionary psychology and sociology to explain police deviance,” Canadian Review of Sociology. Vol. 50(4), 412–429.
This article relies on evolutionary psychology and sociology to understand police wrongdoing.
Chapter 4
Parnaby, Patrick F, and Sacco, Vincent F.. (2004). “Fame and Strain: The Contributions of Mertonian Deviance Theory to an Understanding of the Relationship between Celebrity and Deviant Behaviour,” Deviant Behavior, Vol. 25, (1), 1–26.
Strain and fame is an application of Merton’s theory to modern day deviant behaviour among celebrities.
Staff, Jeremy, and Kreager, Derek A. (2008). “Too Cool for School?: Violence, Peer Status and High School Dropout,” Social Forces (September), Vol. 87, (1), 445–471
Using sub-cultural theory, survey data, and quantitative analysis this paper explores why some youth are “too cool for school.”
Chapter 5
O’Grady, B, Asbridge, M, and Abernathy, Tom. (2000). “Illegal Tobacco Sales to Minors: A View from Rational Choice Theory,” The Canadian Journal of Criminology, 42 (1), 1–20.
This paper uses rational choice theory to understand why certain merchants in Ontario are willing to sell tobacco products to minors.
Caplan, Joel, Kennedy, Leslie and Miller, Joel. (2011). “Risk Terrain Modeling: Brokering Criminological Theory and GIS Methods for Crime Forecasting,” Justice Quarterly, Vol. 28 (2), 360–381.
A modern offshoot of environmental criminology, this paper uses spatial mapping technology (i.e., GIS). One of the main goals of this paper is to apply risk terrain modeling (RTM) to forecast the crime of shootings.
Chapter 6
Totten, Mark. (2009). “Preventing Aboriginal Youth Gang Involvement in Canada: A Gendered Approach,” Paper Prepared for Aboriginal Policy Research Conference, Ottawa, February 26.
This paper explores the experiences of Aboriginal gang involvement in Western Canada.
Dawson, Myra, Pottie-Bunge, Valerie, and Balde, Thierno. (2009). “National Trends in Intimate Partner Homicides Explaining Declines in Canada, 1976 to 2001,” Violence Against Women (March), Vol. 15 (3), 276–306.
In this article the authors link changes in divorce and women’s employment rates to declines in intimate partner violence in Canada in recent years.
Chapter 7
van Koppen , M Vere, de Poot, Christianne J, Kleemans, Edward R, and Nieuwbeerta, Paul. (2010). “Criminal Trajectories in Organized Crime,” British Journal of Criminology, 50, 102–123.
This paper explores the paths that people take to become involved in organized crime.
Braithwaite, John. (2009). “Restorative Justice for Banks through Negative Licensing.” British Journal of Criminology, 49,439–450.
John Braithwaite applies the concept of restorative justice in his analysis of the 2008 global financial crisis and international banking system.
Chapter 8
Sprott, Jane, and Greene, Carolyn. (2010). “Trust and Confidence in the Courts. Does the Quality of Treatment Young Offenders Receive Affect Their Views of the Courts.” Crime and Delinquency ,Vol. 56 (2), 269–289.
Two Canadian criminologists report their research on young offender’s views of the Canadian youth justice system.
Ashton, John R, and Seymour, Howard. (2010). “Public Health and the origins of the Mersey Model of Harm Reduction,” International Journal of Drug Policy, 21 (2), 94–96.
This brief commentary reviews the history of the harm reduction model in Merseyside, England, which is briefly introduced in the text.
Chapter 9
Tonry, Michael. (2010). “Public Criminology and Evidence Based Policy,” Criminology and Public Policy, Vol. 9 (4), 783–797.
This essay by Michael Tonry discusses the roles that criminologists have played in the past and offers advice on what criminologists can do in the future to influence public policy.