Notice
| DOI | 10.1177/000486908601900212 |
| Published date | 01 June 1986 |
| Date | 01 June 1986 |
128 BOOK REVIEWS (1986) 19
ANZJ
Crim
this narration Sheley describes the offences which constitute the Index Crimes and
also organized crime, white collar crime, vice, etc. Like many
other
text books in
Criminology, the present
book
also gives the impression that "Respectable Crime"
including corporate crime, political crime and white collar crime is non-violent in
nature. Hence his description is neither critical nor accurate.
The
next four chapters deal with correlates of criminal behaviour, victims of
crime and causes and causal theories, usual standard text book material. In
the
last
two substantive chapters Sheley emphasizes
the
point that besides
the
role of
processing criminals, the criminal justice system creates "a criminal population that
in
turn
shapes the public's view of crime and the types of people comitting crimes".
In the concluding
chapter
the author deals with certain anti-crime strategies
currently in operation, for example, limited procedural rights, pre-trial preventive
detention, capital punishment, increased penalties for non-capital crimes, lengthy
incarceration of habitual offenders and gun control.
The
author neither
planned
to
nor
tries to offer any solution. But I think he should have offered some critical
appraisal of these strategies. His description is quite evasive. Two examples may
throw
light on this: in his effort to describe negative effects of gun control Sheley
stresses constitutionality of such a measure, he does not stress saving of lives as a
positive effect of gun control. And, secondly, Sheley appears to suggest strongly
that
we should pause, or take time to think, and so on. When will be
the
time to
act?
For
an introductory text, however, the book is reasonably good and, on certain
issues Sheley challenges
the
readers to think.
Canberra
NOTICE
SATYANSHU K
MUKHERJEE
The
International Conference of Police Women will be held in Kfar Hamaccabia,
2-7 November 1986.
The Main Topics are:
Employment of
Women
in Police
Variety of Positions of Women within Israel National Police
and
other
Police
Forces around
the
world
Unique and Problematic Aspects of the Policewomen's
Job
Women and Crime
For
further details please contact Mrs T Shacher, PO Box 394,
TEL-AVIV
61003
ISRAEL.
Telephone Israel (03) -650862, Telex 33803
PEL
TGK
ISRAEL.
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