LibGuides: Criminal Justice: Background Information

Reference Databases

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A reference database useful for accessing scholarly definitions, background and contextual information. Links you to various reference materials and includes a mind map feature that provides a visual of concepts related to your term. Subjects covered include art, biography, business, economics, education, history, literature, music, psychology, religion, and science and technology.
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Proquest’s multi-disciplinary e-book collection. Download or read books online, as well as highlight and take notes in text. Browse by subject option.
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Reference book database. Use to locate reference e-books like encyclopedias and handbooks that provide contextual or explanatory material. Filter by source type, discipline, and search for keywords within texts.

Locating Background Information

Learn how to find background information in the Library. See the FAQ: How can I find general information about a topic?

Selected Background Information

21st Century Criminology by J. Mitchell Miller (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412960199
Publication Date: 2009-08-06
Provides straightforward and definitive overviews of 100 key topics comprising traditional criminology and its modern outgrowths.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology by Bryan S. Turner (Editor)
ISBN: 9780521540469
Publication Date: 2006
Providing an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the classical and the contemporary, this volume is an indispensable guide to the vibrant and expanding field of sociology.
Encyclopedia of Criminal Justice Ethics by Bruce A. Arrigo (Editor)
ISBN: 9781452274119
Publication Date: 2014
Includes A to Z entries by experts in the field that explore the scope of ethical decision making and behaviors within the spheres of criminal justice systems, including policing, corrections, courts, forensic science, and policy analysis and research.
Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice by Travis W. Franklin; Jacinta M. Gau; Travis C. Pratt
ISBN: 9781412970136
Publication Date: 2010
This book brings a new and unique perspective to understanding critical research in criminology and criminal justice.
Snapshots of Research by Richard D. Hartley (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412989190
Publication Date: 2010
Supplemental textbook comprised of scholarly articles exemplifying research methods in criminology and criminal justice.
The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America by Wilbur R. Miller (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412988766
Publication Date: 2012
This four-volume work surveys the history and philosophy of crime, punishment, and criminal justice institutions in America from colonial times to the present.

Dictionary of Prisons and Punishment by Yvonne Jewkes (Editor); Jamie Bennett (Editor)
ISBN: 9781843922919
Publication Date: 2011
Covers key aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system with approximately 300 entries (of between 500 and 1500 words) on key terms and concepts arranged alphabetically.
Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States by Louis J. Palmer
ISBN: 9780786432639
Publication Date: 2008
This updated encyclopedia provides ready information on all aspects of capital punishment in America. It details virtually every capital punishment decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court through 2006, including more than 40 cases decided since publication of the first edition.

Dictionary of Forensic Psychology by Graham Towl (Editor); David Farrington (Editor); David Crighton (Editor); Gareth Hughes (Editor); Jamie Bennett (Editor)
ISBN: 9781843922957
Publication Date: 2012
Designed to meet the needs of both students and practitioners. It contains approximately 100 entries on key terms and concepts, arranged alphabetically and contributed by leading academic and practicing forensic psychologists.
Forensic Science by Evgeny Katz; Jan Halámek
ISBN: 9783527693528
Publication Date: 2016
Concentrating on the natural science aspects of forensics, top international authors from renowned universities, institutes, and laboratories impart the latest information from the field.
A Guide to Forensic DNA Profiling by Allan Jamieson; Scott Bader, Editors
ISBN: 9781118751527
Publication Date: 2016
The Editors have used their own extensive experience in criminal casework across the world to compile an informative guide that will provide knowledge and thought-provoking articles of interest to anyone involved or interested in the use of DNA in the forensic context.

Encyclopedia of Human Rights Issues since 1945 by Winston E. Langley
ISBN: 9780313301636
Publication Date: 1999
This outstanding, comprehensive, and up-to-date encyclopedia on human rights issues from 1945 to 1998 features more than 400 entries on incidents and violations, instruments and initiatives, countries and human rights activists.
Human Rights in the United States by Laura Mars-Proietti (Editor); Rita Cantos Cartwright (Editor)
ISBN: 9781592372904
Publication Date: 2011
This two-volume set offers easy to grasp explanations of the basic concepts and laws in the field, with emphasis on human rights in the historical, political, and legal experience of the United States.

Encyclopedia of Transnational Crime and Justice by Margaret E. Beare (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412990776
Publication Date: 2012
Not only does it define, describe and chart the crimes and criminal activity, it also includes significant coverage of policing those crimes and prosecuting them within domestic and international court systems.
Transnational Organised Crime by James W. E. Sheptycki (Editor)
ISBN: 9781446274040
Publication Date: 2014
The four-volume structure of this major work enables coverage of the historic development of its conceptualization, critical definitional and socio-political issues, empirical case studies and realist formulations of the problem area as well as theoretical, normative debates, alternative conceptual formulations and policy choices.

Dictionary of Policing by Tim Newburn (Editor); Peter Neyroud (Editor)
ISBN: 9781843922872
Publication Date: 2008
Approximately 300 entries (of between 500 and 1500 words) on key terms and concepts arranged alphabetically designed to meet the needs of both students and practitioners.
The SAGE Dictionary of Policing by Alison Wakefield (Editor); Jenny Fleming (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412930994
Publication Date: 2009
Delivers a complete guide to policing in a comprehensive, easy-to-use format.
The SAGE Handbook of Global Policing by Ben Bradford (Editor); Beatrice Jauregui (Editor); Ian Loader (Editor); Jonny Steinberg (Editor)
ISBN: 9781473906426
Publication Date: 2016
Examines and critically retraces the field of policing studies by posing and exploring a series of fundamental questions to do with the concept and institutions of policing and their relation to social and political life in today's globalized world.