An Introduction to Criminal Psychology

Crime is a topic that is of considerable interest to policy-makers, politicians and
the public alike. We want to know what factors can explain the nature and
prevalence of crime in society and use this knowledge to better develop approaches for managing criminal behaviour.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of approaches to understanding crime and criminal behaviour, with a focus on psychological perspectives. A wide range of different types of criminal behaviour are considered, including juvenile crime, violent offending, sexual offending, collective violence and drug use. For each type of offence a clear overview of key conceptual and methodological issues is provided, along with a detailed consideration of the major theoretical approaches that have been developed. The book concludes by considering how our theoretical understanding of crime can inform our responses to criminal behaviour in terms of punishment, prevention and rehabilitation.

Key features of the book include:

‧ an in-depth coverage of a broad range of different types of criminal behaviour;

‧ inclusion of a diverse range of different theoretical perspectives;

‧ accessibly written, with extensive use of case studies, boxes and activities;

‧ an extensive use of up-to-date references that highlight the current state of knowledge in the field of criminal psychology.

This book should be of interest to students, academics, researchers and practitioners with an interest in criminal behaviour, and is particularly suitable for undergraduate courses in criminal psychology, forensic psychology and psychological criminology.

Russil Durrant is a lecturer at the Institute of Criminology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where he teaches courses in criminal and forensic psychology. His research interests include the psychology of violent behaviour, the role of evolutionary explanations in criminology, and the relationship between drug use and crime. He is author of Substance Abuse: Cultural and Historical Perspectives (Sage, 2003).