Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

SAGE Journal User Guide

Journal Article Questions

1. How does social class effect how we view crime and criminal justice?
2. How does gender effect crime and criminal behavior?
3. Does capitalism cause crime?
4. What labels are individuals willing to accept or reject?
5. Would decriminalization of drugs decrease crime?

Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Crime: Future Directions for Feminist Criminology Burgess-Proctor, Amanda Feminist Criminology, Jan 2006; vol. 1: pp. 27 - 47.

Abstract:

More than 30 years after the first scholarship of its kind was produced, feminist studies of crime are more commonplace than ever before. Two recent milestone events—the 20th anniversary of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime and the creation of this journal, the official publication of the division—provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on what lies ahead for feminist criminology. In this article, the author argues that the future of feminist criminology lies in our willingness to embrace a theoretical framework that recognizes multiple, intersecting inequalities. Specifically, the author maintains that to advance an understanding of gender, crime, and justice that achieves universal relevance and is free from the shortcomings of past ways of thinking, feminist criminologists must examine linkages between inequality and crime using an intersectional theoretical framework that is informed by multiracial feminism.

***

Capitalism, Class, and Crime in America Gordon, David M. Crime & Delinquency, Apr 1973; vol. 19: pp. 163 - 186.

Abstract:

Conventional public analyses of crime, both conservative and liberal, begin with the assumption that crimes are committed by irrational individuals who constitute a threat to a rational social order. Sharing that initial assumption, conservatives and liberals diverge in their policy approaches to deterring criminality. Some recent orthodox economic analyses of crime, having begun to re lax the assumption, view crime as a process of rational choice by criminals; they offer the possibility of "optimal" crime prevention policies through the application of conventional economic models.

***

Official Labeling, Criminal Embeddedness, and Subsequent Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test of Labeling Theory Bernburg, J.G., Krohn, M.D., Rivera, C.J. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Feb 2006; vol. 43: pp. 67 - 88.

Abstract:

This article examines the short-term impact of formal criminal labeling on involvement in deviant social networks and increased likelihood of subsequent delinquency. According to labeling theory, formal criminal intervention should affect the individual’s immediate social networks. In many cases, the stigma of the criminal status may increase the probability that the individual becomes involved in deviant social groups. The formal label may thus ultimately increase involvement in subsequent deviance. We use panel data of a sample of urban adolescents to examine whether involvement in deviant social groups mediates the relationship between juvenile justice intervention and subsequent delinquent behavior. Using measures from three successive points in time, the authors find that juvenile justice intervention positively affects subsequent involvement in serious delinquency through the medium of involvement in deviant social groups, namely, street gangs and delinquent peers.