Terance D. Miethe

In the context of global efforts to control the production, distribution and use of narcotic drugs, China's treatment of the problem provides an important means of understanding the social, political, and economic limits of national and international policies to regulate drug practices. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, China was known for its national addiction to opium, but its drug-eradication campaigns from the 1950s to the 1970s achieved unprecedented success that ultimately transformed China into a "drug-free" society. However, since the economic reforms and open-door policy of the late twentieth century, China is now facing a re-emergence of the production, use and trafficking of narcotic drugs. Employing case studies and a comparative historical approach, and drawing on a variety of data sources including historical records, official crime data only recently made available, and news reports, this book is the first English-language publication to provide such a comprehensive documentation and analysis of the nature of China's legal regulation of controlled substances. The authors also offer theoretical approaches for studying drug regulation, aspects of drug consumption cultures, the socio-political treatment of drugs during various historical periods and ongoing efforts to legislate drug trade, criminalize drug use and manage the drug addict population within national and international contexts.

A unique look at the problems in measuring crime both historically and internationallyFilled with real world examples derived from media reports on crime trends and other sources, this fully updated Second Edition analyzes the specific errors that can occur in the three most common methods used to report crime—official crime data, self report, and victimization studies. For each method, the authors examine strengths and weaknesses, the fundamental issues surrounding accuracy, and the method's application to theoretical and policy research. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate the factors that underlie crime data and illustrate the fundamental links between theory, policy, and data measurement.

In the context of global efforts to control the production, distribution and use of narcotic drugs, China's treatment of the problem provides an important means of understanding the social, political, and economic limits of national and international policies to regulate drug practices. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, China was known for its national addiction to opium, but its drug-eradication campaigns from the 1950s to the 1970s achieved unprecedented success that ultimately transformed China into a "drug-free" society. However, since the economic reforms and open-door policy of the late twentieth century, China is now facing a re-emergence of the production, use and trafficking of narcotic drugs. Employing case studies and a comparative historical approach, and drawing on a variety of data sources including historical records, official crime data only recently made available, and news reports, this book is the first English-language publication to provide such a comprehensive documentation and analysis of the nature of China's legal regulation of controlled substances. The authors also offer theoretical approaches for studying drug regulation, aspects of drug consumption cultures, the socio-political treatment of drugs during various historical periods and ongoing efforts to legislate drug trade, criminalize drug use and manage the drug addict population within national and international contexts.

By all accounts, China is the world leader in the number of legal executions. Its long historical use of capital punishment and its major political and economic changes over time are social facts that make China an ideal context for a case study of the death penalty in law and practice. This book examines the death penalty within the changing socio-political context of China. The authors'treatment of China' death penalty is legal, historical, and comparative. In particular, they examine; the substantive and procedures laws surrounding capital punishment in different historical periodsthe purposes and functions of capital punishment in China in various dynastieschanges in the method of imposition and relative prevalence of capital punishment over timethe socio-demographic profile of the executed and their crimes over the last two decades and comparative practices in other countries. Their analyses of the death penalty in contemporary China focus on both its theory - how it should be done in law - and actual practice - based on available secondary reports/sources.

By all accounts, China is the world leader in the number of legal executions. Its long historical use of capital punishment and its major political and economic changes over time are social facts that make China an ideal context for a case study of the death penalty in law and practice. This book examines the death penalty within the changing socio-political context of China. The authors'treatment of China' death penalty is legal, historical, and comparative. In particular, they examine; the substantive and procedures laws surrounding capital punishment in different historical periodsthe purposes and functions of capital punishment in China in various dynastieschanges in the method of imposition and relative prevalence of capital punishment over timethe socio-demographic profile of the executed and their crimes over the last two decades and comparative practices in other countries. Their analyses of the death penalty in contemporary China focus on both its theory - how it should be done in law - and actual practice - based on available secondary reports/sources.

Simple Statistics provides a concise and compelling introduction to basic statistics for students of criminology and criminal justice. Written in a conversational tone, it does not "dumb down" the material; instead, it demonstrates the value of statistical thinking and reasoning in context. The text covers essential techniques instead of attempting to provide an encyclopedic sweep of all statistical procedures. Author Terance D. Miethe illustrates how verbal statements and other types of information are converted into statistical codes, measures, and variables. While most statistics texts emphasize how to do statistical procedures, they often neglect to explain why we do them. This unique book covers both areas, and the problems at the end of each chapter focus on applications, offering even more context for "why we do" these procedures. Simple Statistics uses hand computation methods to demonstrate how to apply the various statistical procedures, and most chapters include an optional section on how to do these procedures in SPSS and/or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Helpful examples illustrate each statistical procedure, and specific problems, detailed summaries, key terms, and major formulas are provided at the end of each chapter to further highlight major points. A comprehensive Instructor's Manual is also available.

The third edition of this thought-provoking text addresses the following questions about crime: * Who are the offenders and victims?* What are the major motivators of crime?* Are most offenders specialists or generalists?* Are most offenders planners or opportunists?* What are their criminal histories?* How often are co-offenders involved?* What are the common features of dangerous places, times, and situational dynamics?* How effective are current crime prevention strategies? Crime Profiles provides a descriptive summary of seven major forms of crime: homicide and aggravated assault, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, occupational and organizational crime, and public order crimes. The new edition provides an extensive update of the material in each chapter. Each chapter now includes national crime reports and national victimization surveys for 2003, the most recently available data. A new chapter has been added on theories of crime. New examples are also used to illustrate both change and stability in the type of situations in which particular crimes occur. Each chapter focuses on crime definitions, trends in their occurrence, the offender and victim profiles, situational elements and circumstances, particular subsets of crime syndromes, prevention, and intervention strategies.

Punishment is the common response to crime and deviance in all societies. However, its particular form and purpose are also linked to specific features of the structure of these societies at a particular time and place. Through a comparative historical analysis of punishment, this book is designed to identify and examine the sources of similarity and differences in types of economic punishments, incapacitation devices and structures, and lethal and non-lethal forms of corporal punishment over time and place. We will look closely at punishment responses to crime and deviance across different regions of the world and in specific countries like the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that the reader will gain an appreciation for both the universal and context-specific nature of punishment and its use for purposes of social control, social change, and the elimination of threat to the prevailing authorities.

Punishment is the common response to crime and deviance in all societies. However, its particular form and purpose are also linked to specific features of the structure of these societies at a particular time and place. Through a comparative historical analysis of punishment, this book is designed to identify and examine the sources of similarity and differences in types of economic punishments, incapacitation devices and structures, and lethal and non-lethal forms of corporal punishment over time and place. We will look closely at punishment responses to crime and deviance across different regions of the world and in specific countries like the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that the reader will gain an appreciation for both the universal and context-specific nature of punishment and its use for purposes of social control, social change, and the elimination of threat to the prevailing authorities.

Using multiple data sources and methods, this book involves a micro-historical analysis of the nature of change and stability in homicide situations over time. It focuses on the homicide situation as the unit of analysis, and explores similarities and differences in the context of homicide for different social groups. For example, using Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we investigate whether various social groups (e.g., men vs. women, teenagers vs. adults, strangers vs. intimates, Blacks vs. Whites) kill under qualitatively different circumstances and, if so, what are the characteristics of these unique profiles. The analysis of over 400,000 US homicides is supplemented with qualitative analysis of narrative accounts of homicide events to more fully investigate the structure and process underlying these lethal situations. Our findings of unique and common homicide situations across different time periods and social groups are then discussed in terms of their implications for criminological theory and public policy.

Theories of criminality and theories of victimization have traditionally been discussed as though they bore no relationship to one another. Yet, a complete explanation for crime must examine both the decision to engage in crime by an offender and the everyday actions of ordinary citizens that increase vulnerability to criminals. The integration of these approaches yields testable models that have greater predictive power than could be obtained by looking only at models of offenders or models of victim behavior. A more general perspective that accounts for both the decision to engage in crime and the selection of particular crime targets is developed and tested.