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POLITICAL CRIME AND PEDAGOGY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE TEXTS

NCJ Number
143027
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 101-114
Author(s)
K D Tunnell
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the quantity and quality of coverage introductory criminology and criminal justice texts devote to political crime and criminals.
Abstract
A content analysis of 49 introductory texts reveals that both quantitative and qualitative coverage of political crime and criminals is sparse. The percentage of text pages given to political crime in 19 recent introductory criminology texts ranges from 0 to 9.18, but the criminal justice texts give virtually no attention to political crime. One key theme that pervades introductory criminology and criminal justice texts is that knowledge of political crime is limited. Political crime receives little theoretical explanation but instead takes the form of descriptive studies and post hoc interpretation. Political crime possibly may be ignored because it has received no formal recognitition in substantive criminal law and because criminology and criminal justice texts reflect the society which largely ignores political crime. 3 notes, 4 tables, 16 references, and 1 appendix