Section 1 examines basic concepts in the field: definitions of criminology and crime, the criminal law and its processes, the measurement of criminal behavior, the extent of crime, and the characteristics of offenders and victims (including age, sex, race, and economic status). In Section 2, theories of crime causation are reviewed, including classical and neoclassical, biological, psychological, and sociological theories. Sociological approaches examined include social structure, social process, and social conflict perspectives. The third section examines major crime categories: violent crimes of rape, murder, assault, and robbery; economic crime, including street crimes, white-collar offenses, and organized crime, and public order crimes of substance abuse and sex-related offenses. The final section presents an overview of the criminal justice system and its components, as well as their relationship to the rule of law. Materials on the police cover the history of policing, law enforcement agencies, police functions, and issues in policing. An examination of the ajudicatory process discusses the actors and pretrial, trial, and sentencing policies and procedures. Finally, material on corrections considers its history, prison conditions, community-based corrections, alternatives to incarceration, and parole. Name and subject indexes; section references; and chapter photographs, charts, figures, outlines, and key terms. See NCJ-114439 for instructor's manual.