Reddit mentions: The best criminology books

Unfortunately, it's a reality of the field that, especially starting out, you'll do the best by being mobile, living light, and traveling cross-country to follow jobs. After you've built up a network, it's easier to pick and choose where you want to work. Embrace the shovelbum lifestyle for a few years and it can be a blast, but it's not without its tradeoffs. For more tips, I'll recommend [this book] (https://www.amazon.com/Field-Archaeologists-Survival-Guide-Management/dp/1611329280/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482344207&sr=1-1&keywords=chris+webster) as well as some of the Archaeology Podcast Network shows.

In addition to shovelbums/archyfieldwork/usajobs, you can also search for archaeology jobs though sites like indeed.com or even craigslist. Jobs posted by large environmental firms show up on the former and sometimes small archaeology shops show up on the latter.

Also check with your SHPO to see if they maintain a list of local cultural resources firms and then browse their websites for job postings. By far though, you'll find the most jobs through your network. After you land your first job, maintain good contact with coworkers you like and respect. Be sure to pass along job postings to them and they'll likely do the same. Conferences, especially regional conferences, are also good resources for networking - even if you don't find a job directly, it's good to keep up with who is doing what kinds of research and where and will help you define your own interests and direct who you might like to work and/or study with in the future. Don't go broke trying to attend every conference in the hopes of getting a job though.

P.S. Don't forget to send R. Joe or Jennifer a donation (or buy them a conference beer!) if/when you get a job through their sites!

The book is Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys by Victor Rios.

Two excerpts:

>The Stolen Bag of Chips

>[...] The store clerk, a balding, middle-aged, Asian American male, pointed to the door and yelled, "Only two kids allowed in the store at a time!" The three youths who were in line to pay for their items looked at the store clerk and at each other. I could see in their faces the look of despair as their most pleasurable moment of the day, to bite into a delicious candy bar, fell apart.

>Mike, who stood closest to the entrance of the door, responded, "We ain't doing shit." The store clerk looked at him and replied, "I am going to call the police!" Mike grabbed a twenty-five-cent bag of Fritos Flamin' Hot chips, lifted it up in front of the clerk's face, and said, "You see this? I was gonna pay for it, but now I ain't paying for shit, stupid mothafucka." He rushed out of the store with the bag of chips. The clerk picked up the phone and called the police. The rest of the youngsters dropped the snacks they were in line to purchase and ran out of the store. I walked up to the store clerk and gave him a quarter for Mike, who had stolen the chips. With an infuriated look, the clerk responded, "It's too late. The police are on their way to get the robbers."

>[...] When I ran into Flaco, he informed me that the police had arrested Mike that day for stealing the twenty-five-cent bag of chips. After interviewing the boys and observing the store clerk's interactions with them soon after this event, I found that Mike's "irrational" behavior had changed the way the store clerk interacted with the boys. The boys believed that the store clerk had begun to treat them with more respect. The store clerk avoided provoking negative interactions with the boys, even if it meant allowing a few more boys into the store than his store policy demanded. While even Mike's peers believed that his actions were "crazy," they also acknowledged that something significant had changed in their interactions with the store clerk.

>[...] In Mike's worldview, his strategy of fighting for dignity at the cost of giving up his freedom had paid off. Mike's actions resulted in his commitment to the criminal justice system. According to him, he was very aware of this risk when he stole the bag of chips. He had grown frustrated by the treatment he had received at school, by police, and then culminating at the store. This frustration, and a deep desire to feel respected, led Mike to willfully expose himself to incarceration.

> In the end, Mike lost his freedom, becoming supervised by the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, Mike gained a sense of dignity for himself and his peers, which, in his mind, made it worth exchanging his freedom. This scenario is representative of many of the crimes that the other boys committed. Demanding dignity from the system generated a paradox for the boys: they all indicated wanting to be free of incarceration, policing, and surveillance, while, at the same time, punitive surveillance, policing, and discipline led many of them to consciously seek their dignity and act in a way that pipelined them into the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, striving for dignity led some of the boys deeper into the system.

>The boys took control of their criminalization by using the few resources they had at hand. In this example, Mike and his friends changed the interactional dynamic between themselves and the store clerk. [...] However, the price Mike paid for this was steep, this arrest later led him deeper into the criminal justice system.

>[...] Maintaining a sense of dignity -- feeling accepted and feeling that their human rights were respected -- was a central struggle. The boys chose consciously chose to fight for their dignity, even if it meant risking their freedom.

[...]

>Defiance as Resistance

>It seemed that defiance constituted a temporary success to the boys. Watching interactions between the boys and authority figures was often like watching a life-sized game of chess in action, with a rook strategically moving in response to a queen's movement. A police officer would get out of his car, the boys would posture, an officer would grab a young man, his friends would prepare to run, and officer would humiliate one of the boys, and the boy would respond by not cooperating or by cursing back.

>As one side moved its pieces to repress, another moved its pieces to resist. The boys were almost always captured and eliminated from the chess board, but not before they had encroached into the opponent's territory, throwing the system off and influencing the rules and movements of the game.

I am not an expert. This is not professional legal, defensive, or other advice. You are responsible for your choices and their consequences.

A few points on home defense firearms

• Any firearm that will keep you safe will also go through a wall, and some firearms that won't keep you safe will go through a wall (including .22). If it will penetrate flesh, it will penetrate drywall. If you are defending your life, you aren't worried about the cost of wall repairs or the engine block of your car outside. Always know your target and what is beyond, and never discharge a firearm at something you are not willing to destroy.
  
  
• To prevent hitting people outside of your home, think about the layout of your home and where/how you will be defending yourself. Ideally, you would have a safe room (the master bedroom, for example) where you can lock the door. Let the home invader have the flatscreen in the living room; hopefully that's all he wants. He'll take it and leave and your homeowner's insurance will cover you (and even if it doesn't, a few hundred bucks is well worth getting him out of there). If he boots open your bedroom door, though, he has now framed himself, cannot move laterally (he's in a doorway) and makes a fantastic target (provided he poses a lethal threat). Have a thick book case or other large, impenetrable object across from your bedroom to stop the rounds that may overpenetrate or miss your target. (And don't count on the bookcase alone; choose a lane of fire that prevents the possibility of injury to innocent bystanders.)
  
  
• The reason we use firearms is that there is an immediate, unavoidable threat of death or great bodily harm to the innocent. In this situation, you need to stop the threat now. Not ten minutes from now. Not in an hour from now. Not in a week form now. Not ten seconds from now. Now. John Mullery continued fighting law enforcement officer Steve Chaney with multiple rounds of 38 special in his chest and one in his head. He didn't stop until a round broke his pelvis and he fell to the floor. Use the most effective firearm that you feel your household can handle. More on that in a moment.
  
  
• The 22 is everything you don't want in a defensive firearm: It's not particularly less lethal than any other caliber (it can pierce major vessels like the aorta and femoral arteries, it can penetrate the skull under the right circumstances, it can pierce the heart, and you may have to shoot your target more times to stop them), but it is less reliable (bullets can more easily slip around the rather armored human skull beneath the skin and exit without interrupting the CNS, people shot through the torso and abdomen may not be stopped immediately). It doesn't help you if your target dies a week from now. In fact, the ideal situation would be, your target survives, but stops his aggression immediately and leaves. Time and again, evidence from the street has shown that in handguns, calibers larger than 9mm or 38 loaded with defensive ammunition (jacketed hollowpoints, for example) are the standard, which is why you generally won't find a department in the US that carries anything less. The one-shot stop rates for such firearms is typically over 90%, meaning higher survival rates for the aggressor (with proper trauma care) and a better chance at escaping injury free for the defender.
  
  
• Your choice of defensive firearm will depend entirely on your needs. If someone tells you a certain defensive firearm is 'the only reasonable option' or 'the best choice' without first assessing your needs and explaining his/her reasoning in detail, consider listening to someone else. If you need to move from room to room, collecting young children from their bedrooms, flipping light switches on and off, and calling the cops, a gun that can be used with one hand (a handgun) would serve you well. If you live alone or with one SO, and you are both likely to be in or retreat to the bedroom in the event of a home invasion, a shotgun or other long arm may make more sense. Remember to choose a firearm that the smallest and least experienced member of your household who is authorized to use guns in defense of life can use safely and reliable. I can discuss this more if needed.
  
  
• As always, observe the principles of gun safety and store your firearms safely.
  
  For more information, feel free to AMAA or check out the following:
  
  The Truth About Self Protection by Ayoob (general home safety as well as limited firearms advice)
  
  The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery by Ayoob
  
  The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker (Provided for some balance. de Becker is generally anti-gun, and much of his advice deals with finding ways to avoid getting to the point of having to defend yourself physically. It's an excellent, excellent book for crime prevention.)
  
  ---
  
  Happy to dialog or answer questions with anyone who agrees, disagrees, or anything in between. I only ask for mutual civility.

I own two that I think are really good in the sense that they're really useful in examining the case, but I'm not sure if that's the 'good' you're looking for in terms of vacation reading!

If you want something entertaining, but isn't overly long and dry, you might pick up a book called 'The Cases That Haunt Us' by the "real life" Jack Crawford, John Douglas. That book has overviews of several different famous, unsolved cases, including an interesting section about The Ripper (link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Cases-That-Haunt-Us/dp/0671017063). This one is probably the best vacation reading sort of book.

If you don't mind something dry & academic, I like 'The Ultimate Jack The Ripper Companion' by Stuart Evans & Keith Skinner (link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Jack-Ripper-Companion/dp/0786707682). It's the only contemporary source material encyclopedia that I know of.

Finally, there's a book that sort of marries these two types called 'Complete History of Jack the Ripper', but Philip Sugden (link: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-History-Ripper-Philip-Sugden/dp/1841193976). Like the one above, this one is pretty long, but is written in a more accessible way.

If you have a tablet or other mobile device that you're bringing with you, you can always enjoy my favorite Ripper website, http://casebook.org/

I'm a former Texas CRMer (F32). It really will depend on what your project is and where it's located. Certain parts of Texas are very dry and others are incredibly humid.

If you can afford it before your first paycheck, I would definitely invest in a 2-3 lt hydration bladder to use in your LL Bean backpack (3 lt is better). As demosthenes83 said, you can use it later once you get a new pack. I love my camelback bladders because of the warranty, but you can pick up an off-brand at Walmart or Amazon for cheap. Depending on your project you'll be refilling this when you stop at the truck for lunch.

I would upgrade your boots as soon as you can. Especially if you'll be doing surveys. You can't work if you have an injury due to inadequate footwear. Budget around $100-$150. I really like Keen. That being said, if you are working in West Texas you will likely have to replace them frequently so don't spend too much. (I've had cacti thorns coming up through my insoles after a month surveying in a new pair of boots.)

Your Magellan shirts should be fine, at least to start out. Figure out what will work for you before you start spending money on field clothes. Most of my office gets long sleeve shirts from the Columbia Outlet. They have great deals and are perfect for summer fieldwork. Goodwill is great too. Also avoid wearing heavy pants unless you are working in dense scrub brush. Anything lightweight, long sleeved, and moisture wicking is good. You will be hot and sweaty with long sleeves, but staying covered up beats working with a sunburn for the next few days. You will sweat off your sunscreen faster than you think possible. You should also get a few Buff neck gaiters when you can (https://buffusa.com/ ). And a wide brimmed hat ASAP.

You'll want bugspray if you're working near Houston. And a pair of snake gaiters if your company doesn't provide them. We also use powdered lime (from the garden/tractor store -- dump some in an old sock and hit it over your waist/ankles/etc) to prevent chigger bites.

General advice for new CRMers -- try not to spend all your per diem out at the bar. Invest it in yourself by upgrading gear, regional books, professional organization memberships, saving for the off-season, retirement, etc. Chris Webster's Field Archaeologist's Survival Guide ( https://www.amazon.com/Field-Archaeologists-Survival-Guide-Management/dp/1611329280 ) really helped prepare me for my first job and finding the next ones. Other than that, have fun and explore!

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions!

We Are Our Language: An Ethnography of Language Revitalization in a Northern Athabaskan Community by Barbra Meek

If anyone has any interest in language revitalization, I think this is a great read.

Wisdom Sits in Place: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache by Keith Basso

A classic.

Trade of the Tricks: Inside the Magician's Craft by Graham Jones

Not nearly as heavy on the linguistics as the other two I mentioned (though he has a fair amount on language), but I thought it was a very entertaining and interesting read!

In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio by Philippe Bourgois

He constantly uses large chunks of quoted text from his informants, so there's really interesting code-switching and discussions of dialects and language ideologies happening, but it's not something that the author really focuses on or analyzes (his focus is on political economy). But I enjoyed it as an ethnography.

Writing Women's Worlds: Bedouin Stories by Lila Abu-Lughod

Fantastically written, really recommend this one, though it's not linguistic at all.

I have a bad habit of reading multiple books at once, so I'm currently on Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the US Prison System, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, and one day I'll finish Rules for Radicals. Women Behind Bars is a really great, easy read that has a lot of good information in it. The other two are a bit slower, but still good and I recommend them all.

Other than these books, I read a lot about dogs....so previously I've read Don't Shoot the Dog and On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals. If anyone is interested in positive reinforcement, Don't Shoot the Dog is really applicable to every situation - you can apply it to dogs, clients, spouses, children, any relationship really. I thought it was a good read as a social worker and dog...understander.... :)

In Search of Respect is often used in modern cultural anthropology classes as a first hand look at the culture and life of drug dealers and associated characters. It's a bit dry in some points, but it's pretty detailed. The author depicts things sort of 'from the ground up', as he slowly gains the trust of the neighborhood, and access to more influential figures in the trade.

> I know that every piece a lot of legislation they pushed through was in the interest of the diamant sector not in the public interest. So why?

Got me there, better?

Let's be clear, the diamond sector is a mafia organisation that deals in blood money.

Do you need more sources, read this: https://www.amazon.com/Mazzel-Ritual-Culture-Customs-Diamond/dp/0387959599

Another source:
http://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20170329_02806092/positie-van-antwerpen-in-diamantwereld-bedreigd-banken-weigeren-diamantairs

If all the streets in a city are wet it has rained. You either accept that or you go running around that the sky has been clear all day and that it's your neighbours fault. Have fun with that.

About culture? Anthropology may be the area you want to check out. It's a very complex topic, but has loads of interesting reports on marginalized cultures within America. The Navajo probably have had a few ethnographies already done for them.

One of my favorite that you may find interesting is In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Oddly, it really reminded me of where I grew up.

Interesting question. Off the top of my head, I would say that makes you not so much 'a feminist' as 'a person whose viewpoint has been influenced by feminism'. Personally, I don't think you can really call yourself a feminist if you don't believe in patriarchy, as in the idea that women are historically oppressed as a class, but that is a big discussion and not one I intend to get into here.

By the way, you say you 'really don't believe in a contemporary patriarchy' - what about the likes of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan? Is patriarchy not expressed through the machismo of certain Latin American culture and households? If it was considered relatively normal for Latino men to beat their wives and have control over the household finances, (that's a big 'if', I know), would that not be considered a form of patriarchy? You might like to take a look at In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio, which could be said to portray a patriarchal society, in terms of the social norms and household arrangements of the subjects. Obviously, it depends a bit on what you mean by 'patriarchal', but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to refer to these families in that way.

Check out this book here. It is written by a professor who was friends with Espo and Amaze and talks about their work and lives in NYC. ESPO is the fuckin' man and Amaze is tight too.. Awesome Pic!

I have three recommendations for you.

The first is Counterfeit Community: The Exploiation of our Longings for Connectedness, its a fantastic book which looks at how our culture has veered away from tangible community, and how our 'innate' need for community as social animals has become a tool for marketing and exploitation. Its a fascinating read and I think you'll enjoy it. It is worth noting that the book is a little bit dated at this point, it was published before social media or texting really took off, and I think both of those things would have made an excellent chapter in this particular work.

The second isn't an academic work or a sociology text, but it is a famous work in early Feminism and one of the most interesting works to fall under the umbrella of Sociology of Gender. It's a short story called The Yellow Wallpaper and offers an abstract look at Charlotte Perkins Gilman's experience with postpartum depression in a male dominated society. Alone it offers little of sociological value obvious at first glance, but if you look at it through a lens of how being a woman in a male-centric society shapes ones individual psyche you'll start to see how its a unique glimpse into how society can force a person in one direction over those others available. If you have Amazon Prime, its available for free as a Kindle edition.

The final book, and probably my favorite out of these three (I'm biased though, as a criminology student) is Cullen and Johnson's Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences. It covers the history of correctional theory and how its related to outside forces and how it has effected individuals throughout time not only while they're in prison, but after they leave. It gets especially interesting once you add a Sociology of Ethics class and a Rural Sociology class alongside the book.

Not really. Police brutality is a great example of systemic issues rather than personal animus, actually. Here is a good article on it: https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562077/police-racism-implicit-bias


Same with systems like red-lining. Most bankers would say they aren't racist. Yet there are still heavily segregated cities and parts of cities in the US. How do we explain that? Personal animus doesn't seem to. But systems of power do.

If you are interested in this issue, I would recommend [Institutionalized Racism: A Primer] as a clearly explained and well-researched intro to these ideas. (https://www.amazon.com/Institutional-Racism-Primer-Theory-Strategies/dp/0742560163)

> I am male, and to cut a long story short, yes i am 'particularly masculine' by the usual metrics.

Ah right, well this is all very easy for you to say then, isn't it? Strikes me you are talking from a position of privilege in that respect.

> Can you answer the part about who your favourite articles were to teach on? I'm quite curious!

I have no idea why that would be. What possible difference could it make to you? It sounds to me like you are testing me.

Anyway, if you really want to read some sociology, here are a few suggestions...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intimacy-Personal-Relationships-Modern-Societies/dp/0745615740

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Managed-Heart-Commercialization-Human-Feeling/dp/0520272943

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonaldization

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Respect-Structural-Analysis-Sciences/dp/0521017114

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_and_Punish

I will try and add some more if I think of anything, but TBH I think you are just trying to test me anyway. For some reason redditors often seem to be incredulous that someone could actually do a sociology degree and a post-grad, and go on to work in teaching, though it is actually a pretty humble accomplishment AFAIAC.

Edit: one of my favourite sociology books when I was an undergrad was Scotland the Brand.

Since many of the big names for me have already been mentioned:

• Jeff Ferrell's Cultural Criminology
  
  
  I love the deviance aspect of sociology, and this book really redefined the reaches of criminological thought. It was just brilliant. :)

This is pretty great: Cult of the Great Eleven 7th Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1511440864/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CHt5ybWY1XTQQ

Hmm ok I'm glad you clarified. I can see where you are coming from, but I just see it differently in that, American culture tends to put too much emphasis on the individual without considering the strutural. Since I studied social science (if you couldn't tell!) I changed a lot of my views, about the value of work (in regards of "skilled" and "unskilled labor), about oppertunity in America and about how larger structual issues creates a direct impact on people's lives and how we aren't willing to even look at those options to change (God forbid if we do anything against the mighty capitalism!).

A book that really stuck with me, because of the quality of writing, research and the insights it has, was In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Also people will give you funny looks for reading it!

http://www.amazon.com/In-Search-Respect-Structural-Analysis/dp/0521017114

I know they may not be exactly what you are after but both these books show the outlaw perspective from an 'outsider' who lives the outlaw life for a period of time 1 2
Another good read is Mafia Enforcer Which is about a guy who was president of a MC who then went on to be a hit man for the Canadian Mafia.
this book is also worth a read as it has a few good looks into the daily routine of a MC

I did a paper on the constitutionality of Public Universities prohibiting firearms on campus, in this paper I used both empirical and theory-based papers about how teachers, students, and campus police chiefs feel about having guns on campus. If you'd like, I can send you my bibliography and you can check out some of the research?

In summary, it turns out that when surveyed, teachers/support staff, students, and campuses police chiefs respond (at an overwhelming rate) that they do NOT want students or employee carrying weapons on their campuses. They respond that they would feel less safe.

I know that you're interested in the violence aspect of firearms research, but I find that going down the wormhole of investigating my sources' sources gets me to some good data, usually.

Last, there is a textbook I've used in the past that has a significant focus on gun violence. The book is called Violence: The Enduring Problem. It might be worth checking around for. I'm sure an older edition would be just as good. It is an EASY read.

Thank you for posting this. This is a great insight to the injustices that the incarcerated population and their families see every day. I have personally had to use the companies they mentioned in the video for commissary while I was incarcerated and the prices for everything are inflated. A good book on this if you want to read on more of this type of subject is The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison. I read it while I was locked up and it really opened my eyes. http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Richer-Poor-Prison-Edition/dp/0205137725

I've seen a handful of people say that this sort of academic content is only produced (or acceptable to produce) about white men. I'd like to note that cultural, anthropological and historical studies of specific demographics, especially groups of alienated men, are actually pretty common. Take this classic study about Kashmiri Jihadists, or this one about drug dealers in East Harlem or hell, this study of the changing mores and social expectations in samurai culture. In other words, studying the identity of a group of men who are finding their social status threatened, uncertain or rapidly changing is actually quite a common academic pursuit.

In academic contexts like this there are clear epistemological and ethical considerations to keep in mind. The first is that any study of a group of people, whoever they are, needs to engage with the voices, experiences and worldviews of those people in good faith. This doesn't mean agree with, or even have an overall positive view of them or their beliefs - see the studies about Kashmiri Jihadists or drug dealers above - but it does mean that the purpose should be to reach a kind of understanding of the way these people think and feel about their world. A course that talks about the experiences of white men, with an aim at looking at processes of anger or radicalisation, would almost certainly be approaching the issue from this angle. I don't see anything to indicate that this won't be the case.

From the responses I've seen, a lot of people imagine this course to basically be a semester long dunk-session on white dudes without any nuance. From where I stand it seems pretty clear this course is intended to deconstruct, understand and talk about the experiences and alienation of certain white men in the US and UK in the last 70 years.

I think, in 2019, most Westerners with eyeballs have realised that young white men are a demographic that is noticeably prone to radicalisation, extremism and alienation. I think it's inevitable that this will be a phenomenon that is increasingly discussed and researched in academic and public circles.

Books I would add to balance this list out:

Anthropology

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris. Unlike Germs, Guns, and Steel, this book is written by an actual anthropologist (sorry Mr. Diamond) and is a really easy read--it covers topics from the sacredness of cows to cargo cults. It's fun, too, as Harris is an entertaining and engaging writer, and it's a slim book.

Bonus Level Challenge Anthropology Read:

In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio by Phillipe Bourgois. This is another monograph written by an actual anthropologist. This book is more challenging subject matter, and I should put a big Trigger Warning on it for violence against women.

Economics

Wages, Price, and Profit by Karl Marx. It's a shame more people don't read Marx beyond the Manifesto, which he wrote fairly early on in his academic life. W,P and P is a preparatory work for Capital and outlines one of the arguments Marx makes in the much denser and more complete work that was to follow. It's short, and one of Marx's more approachable writings, dealing with something we are all familiar with: how much we get paid, and why.

Bonus Level Challenge Economics Read:

Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism by V. I. Lenin. This book contains much drier material, as Lenin draws upon common economic sources (I hope you like talking about tons of iron) to illustrate phenomenon like World War 1--which he saw as a competition of imperialist powers to redivide the Middle East and Africa--and even the Iraq Invasion that would come almost 100 years later.

If you want to read an Ethnography i suggest In Search of Respect by Phillipe Bourgois. I read it after my first semester of Anthropology and i think its the book that made me continue on and do a major in Anthro.

It is pretty easy to get through and very interesting and relevant subject matter.

If you're interested in learning more about how criminals communicate (including ingenious methods like signaling and screening), check out Diego Gabetta's book

https://www.amazon.com/Codes-Underworld-How-Criminals-Communicate/dp/0691152470

It's a great read. Tiny bit of basic game theory (so you get to learn some game theory too, but in an accessible way), lots of great stories. He's a sociologist, not an economist, but the game theory should be familiar to all economists.

When I was in my first semester (in my third currently) I found that "Criminal Justice: The Essentials" was a really good book to read. It was required for my intro to CRIJ class and it was very simple and informative, especially because I had no knowledge of the CRIJ system at all.

Being a CRIJ major, I still have my book and still look back on it sometimes for my current classes. I definitely recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Criminology-Invitation-Jeff-Ferrell/dp/1412931274
http://www.amazon.com/Framing-Crime-Cultural-Criminology-Image/dp/0415459044/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373207631&sr=1-7&keywords=cultural+criminology

And these are more on movies, which is my field of interest, but these are great anyway:
http://www.amazon.com/Criminology-Goes-Movies-Popular-Culture/dp/0814776523/ref=sr_1_22?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373207665&sr=1-22&keywords=cultural+criminology
http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Mirror-Crime-Films-Society/dp/0195175069/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373207712&sr=1-1&keywords=rafter

For my Intro to Cultural Anthropology class last semester we read an ethnography called "In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in the Barrio" by Philippe Bourgois. It was an interesting read, very captivating and real. I really liked it.

I don't think that I have still the textbook that mentioned it, but that is an actual academic theory about the origins of modern law enforcement.

Essentially, the police are members of the lower class that are employed by the upper class to enforce rules and laws that prevent upward mobility and maintain the status quo. The rules and laws are, of course, made by the wealthy class.

Unless I can find the textbook, the best citation I can give you is the author of and name of the book I read it in.

Police and Society by Dr. Kenneth Novak.

Novak, K. J., Cordner, G. W., Smith, B. W., & Roberg, R. R. (2017). Police & Society. New York: Oxford University Press.

In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio, by Philipe Bourgeois, is an ethnography of street-level drug dealers written by an anthropologist. It's very readable for an academic analysis.

Makes Me Wanna Holler, by Nathan McCall, is an autobiography written by a gang-member-turned-journalist. It offers an unapologetic look at his experiences.

Public Enemies, by Bryan Burroughs, doesn't focus on the personal experiences and perspectives of gang members in the same ways. But it offers an interesting account of some of the big-name gangs and gang members of the 1930s and the FBI response.

I've done a lot of reading up on the topic. I'd recommend Transforming a Rape Culture -- it's a collection of essays written by all kinds of different people, men and women, and covers quite a large area. There are some articles included that I don't necessarily agree with 100% (for example, one of the first pieces is an Andrea Dworkin speech, and while she raises very interesting points, she's too bellicose for me personally), but it's a great resource to be in just one book.

For anyone interested in understanding the inequality of the Criminal Justice system, based on objective evidence statistics available to all, (or in learning how that data is collected such as voluntary agency reporting), I highly recommend the book The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. It will forever change how you view our judicial system.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0205137725/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_iYdWzbF2006CY

Every single "person with similar views as nolimitsoldier" I have encountered has always fallen into 1 of the following groups.

1. "12-24 Naive" This is the age where people tend to dismiss feminism without taking any initiative to learn about new and old feminist theories. I understand why so many people in this group so readily believe misconceptions about feminism. It is due to lack of knowledge or background regarding the new and old feminist theories. Also why nolimitsoldier believes all feminists think they are artists / photographers is beyond me. I blame the countless people who don't take the time to learn about the concepts and definitions regarding feminism and much of the media. Isn't until people mature and take the initiative to learn about feminism and realize that modern societies are still patriarchal, misogynist, and sexist.
   
   
2. "Man Eaters" This misconception is the standard among those who still disregard feminism. Most I have met lack any true knowledge on the feminist theory and believe the myth that all feminist are hairy man hating lesbians. Feminists come from all background and genders so this couldn't possibly true. This stereotype is false. Myth:Feminists are man hating lesbians
   
   
3. "Corporate" Again more misconceptions. People complain about feminism, woman, etc, while not understanding what feminism has to do with the plight of the woman. At the end of the day it'll depend on the person and the person they're respecting if they're a good leader or not. Because believe it or not people come from all different backgrounds and cultures! It just goes against our cultured societal beliefs that women can be good leaders. **A side example of this is the iron my shirt incident with Hillary Clinton
   
   
4. "more bullshit" The definition of feminist varies in each textbook but they all mean the same thing in the end: people seeking the equal treatment of women. Men already dominate the world. This hasn't allowed women to dominate or control men in any way. And feminists aren't seeking the domination of men, we are seeking the equality of genders.
   
   To learn more about feminism you can read or watch the following websites,books, or videos:
   
   Youtube Videos or Channels:
   
   

• Tony Porter:A Call to Men
  
• Feminism Survey:Men on the Street
  
• Missrepresentation Documentary Trailer
  
• Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech
  
• Feminist Frequency
  
• Trixie Films
  
  Websites/Blogs:
  
  
• Finally Feminism 101
  
• Feminist Frequency
  
• Geek Feminism
  
• The F-Word
  
• Feminist Peace Network
  
• Gender Across Borders
  
• Feministing
  
• Feministe
  
• Tiger Beatdown
  
• Feminist Teacher
  
• The Feminist Hub
  
• Lipstick Feminists
  
  Books:
  
  
• Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by Bell Hooks
  
• Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings
  
• Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine
  
• Gender Knot Revised Ed: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy by Allan G. Johnson
  
• Feminist Theory: A Reader by Wendy Kolmar
  
• The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory
  
• Third Wave Feminism: Expanded
  
• Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement
  
• Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by Chandra Talpade Mohanty
  
• Defending Our Dreams: Global Feminist Voices for a New Generation
  
• Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation
  
• Enlightened Sexism by Susan J. Douglas
  
• Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape
  
• The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today by Kat Banyard
  
• Reclaiming the F Word: The New Feminist Movement by Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune
  
• Transforming a Rape Culture by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher and Martha Roth
  
• Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Ulrich
  
• Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power

http://www.amazon.com/Search-Respect-Structural-Analysis-Sciences/dp/0521017114/ref=la_B001IGHNIW_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368699663&sr=1-1 this is a VERY intresting book about an anthropologist who studied crack dealers, its pretty cool.

I'm looking for (preferably in epub):

• Police & Society (7th Edition) – IBSN: 9780190639211
  
  $10 or best offer (Paypal)

For a different take on the subject, check out The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison.

In Search of Respect if you’re into anthropology at all

In Search of Respect is a good way to understand how this happens. An anthropologist goes to East Harlem to study crack dealers in the 90's.

Did you know 50% of marriages end in divorce... Oh wait!

Much like this bullshit statistics "grit" is bullshit. Grit is not a new idea nor is it profound. Let's not mention that her statement really downplays the impact of socio-economic status. Lastly we should remember that "The Rich Gets Richer and the Poor Gets Prison"

Like the other guy said, if you don’t know, then maybe you weren’t supposed to relate. I’m white and even I could understand where killmonger was coming from, from what I know from movies and music. If you really want to learn about what him and others like went through though, then read this
It’s even based in Oakland. Maybe you won’t suddenly relate, but at least you’d understand.

Just read ethnographies on a subject or group that interests you.

One of my favorites in college was [In Search of Respect(]http://www.amazon.com/Search-Respect-Structural-Analysis-Sciences/dp/0521017114). Philippe Bourgeois was studying crack dealers in El Barrio (a mostly Hispanic are of New York City also called Spanish Harlem). It's a very good ethnography because it is objective, showing how social capital and other phenomena play a role in keeping the crack dealers from "going legit," yet it does not make apologies for the sometimes obscene things they do to other human beings.

Thunder Rides a Black Horse is about a traditional Mescalero coming of age ceremony for women.

Life and Death on Mt Everest is an intimate look at the experienced Sherpas who aid mountain climbers as they tackle the world's tallest mountain.

There are ethnographies all over the place on just about every culture you could ask for. Just do a google search on something that interests you and use the keyword "ethnography" in your search. You're bound to come up with something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=rape+culture

Or here - my partner was a Women's Studies minor, and she has this book on the shelf from one of her classes...

Are you familiar, by any chance, with the first rule of holes?

Yeah, joining gangs isn't something most of these kids would do if it wasn't a necessary part of life for them. This book does an incredible job explaining the issue.

You should check out this book. Written by an actual researcher who lived in one of Harlem's worst drug neighborhoods. It deals with a lot of issues, but one is particularly related to your post- the family units. Given the societal pressure for a two parent home, most mothers (since primarily the fathers do the abusing) stay with them, thinking that's what is best for their children. However, the real problem is they don't kick them out. When the kid(s) grow up seeing the parents constantly arguing and fighting, they think that's how relationships are supposed to be, and perpetuate the cycle.

The whole book is really good though. Definitely demonstrates why it is so difficult for people to get out of very poor neighborhoods, where they make more money selling dope and committing crimes than the minimum wage jobs they are barely qualified for. It's not as easy as "pull yourself up by your bootstraps," like the politicians and MSM would like the population to believe.

board4life: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link

You should check out this book. Written by an actual researcher who lived in one of Harlem's worst drug neighborhoods. It deals with a lot of issues, but one is particularly related to your post- the family units. Given the societal pressure for a two parent home, most mothers (since primarily the fathers do the abusing) stay with them, thinking that's what is best for their children. However, the real problem is they don't kick them out. When the kid(s) grow up seeing the parents constantly arguing and fighting, they think that's how relationships are supposed to be, and perpetuate the cycle.

The whole book is really good though. Definitely demonstrates why it is so difficult for people to get out of very poor neighborhoods, where they make more money selling dope and committing crimes than the minimum wage jobs they are barely qualified for. It's not as easy as "pull yourself up by your bootstraps," like the politicians and MSM would like the population to believe.

Wow, you have to be really bigoted to think that was the only reason these things happen. It's not as simple as that. It's a huge cycle of poverty, violence, and drugs that all contribute to this. Please please educate yourself so you don't embarrass yourself. This book will help you. It's not about black people mainly, but it'll give you an idea what the reasons are.

I understand your feelings and personal connection to this topic, however the data doesn't support your worldview. This book details a great amount of the marginalization of the lower classes and sites studies, data, etc. that supports the idea that racism is a continuing systemic issue in America. If you don't want to do the research and go through dozens of articles, I'd recommend just reading the book. It's not free (well, maybe you can pirate it somewhere) but it compiles it all into one place for you.

One other theme that's going to be important in issues dealing with an organized group of criminals is trust and reliability (amidst a group which self-selects for untrustworthiness and violence). Diego Gambetta's Codes of the Underworld (http://www.amazon.com/Codes-Underworld-How-Criminals-Communicate/dp/0691152470) is really handy for looking at how organized crime winds up establishing methods by which internal trust can be demonstrated.

Kling blaims the poor for their poverty. I disagree with him and think his argument is not firmly developed.

Poverty is a structure whose product is the poor. Class reproduces itself. The children of the wealthy and well-educated grow up to be wealthy and well-educated because their parents bestow upon them the ability to navigate this socioeconomic system. Similarly is true for the poor and poorly-educated. (read the sociological study Unequal Childhoods if you want something more substantial than my rambling comment).

He is coding class warfare in "libertarian beliefs." Rather, we should recogonize the poor are disadvantaged not only because of their poverty, but because they don't understand our current socioeconomic system. "Hard work" alone won't help you (drug dealers work hard). Teach kids to discard constraining notions of gender, teach kids how to talk to professionals, teach kids to how to speak and dress like the hegemonic class - like rich white people. That (unfortunately) will likely get you far in this country.

...Talking points? I'm a sociologist who works on economics, politics & crime and has worked in several police & prison orgs.

I'd be glad to cite every claim I made--though I can't imagine how explaining the is/ought distinction is a 'talking point.'

Crack is not more addictive than free based or injected cocaine, this is a physiological fact. It is only more addictive than snorted cocaine. And, it is not 18-100X more addictive than snorted cocaine, so that isn't even a justification.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is%E2%80%93ought_problem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elements_of_the_Philosophy_of_Right

http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~hlevine/Secret_of_World_Wide_Drug_Prohibition__HG_Levine

https://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/research/pdf/ssrn-id1118460.pdf

http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~ec970ajf/Class_19/economics_drug_war%20copy.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Oblivion-Global-History-Narcotics/dp/0393325458

https://www.amazon.com/Creating-American-Junkie-Addiction-Research/dp/0801867983

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/harvard-economist-jeffrey-miron-on-why-drugs-should-be-legalized-a-886289.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/?utm_term=.765f9157fdf3

http://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-bigger-problem-theft-protect/

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/news_detail.asp?newsID=35

http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Crime-briefing.pdf

http://www.nber.org/papers/w6950

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/08/racial_disparities_in_the_criminal_justice_system_eight_charts_illustrating.html

https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/141027_iachr_racial_disparities_aclu_submission_0.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Justice-Ethnicity-Wadsworth-Contemporary/dp/1111346925

http://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-Color-of-Justice-Racial-and-Ethnic-Disparity-in-State-Prisons.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595586431

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20452518.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/who-are-biggest-killers-america-numbers-will-shock-you

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=16702

http://hlrecord.org/2015/03/20-things-you-should-know-about-corporate-crime/

https://www.attn.com/stories/2643/crack-vs-cocaine

https://openborders.info/double-world-gdp/

https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/family/item/21784-prescription-drugs-kill-more-than-illegal-drugs-teens-at-high-risk

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/29/george-will/claims-smoking-kills-more-people-annually-other-da/


edit:

more sources

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303032

http://news.stanford.edu/2016/06/28/stanford-researchers-develop-new-statistical-test-shows-racial-profiling-police-traffic-stops/

http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/how-much-crime-fighting-do-%E2%80%98crime-fighters%E2%80%99-really-do

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1458086.files/Western.pdf

http://64.6.252.14/class/540/2013/science-cullen.pdf

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/e199912.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Get-Richer-Poor-Prison/dp/0205137725

http://www.infoshop.org/pdfs/Our-Enemies-in-Blue.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Lockdown-America-Police-Prisons-Crisis/dp/1844672492

Ye OP damn you for not giving us sources

To maintain a prisoner class of society.

I'm not a felon because I was never arrested nor charged for a felony. Consequently, I was not found guilty of a felony.

On the other hand, the people who are, indeed, arrested for felonies tend to be poorer and blacker than everyone else. And the people who actually get convicted for a felony? If you had to pick poor and black, you'd be right more than wrong.

Possible explanations for this would be that there are more blacks than whites in the US, but this is obviously false.

The next possible answer is that white people use less dope than black people, or that white people don't sell dope, or that white people commit fewer crimes. But I've seen white people smoke plenty of weed, snort lots of coke, sling plenty of stuff. I'd reckon your favorite explanation is that black people just commit more crimes, but I don't buy it.


I say that black people get busted more often because of unequal attention from law enforcement. Once they get arrested, and then are less likely to be able to defend themselves adequately because $$. Generations of public policy in the US, from slavery, through Reconstruction, to Jim Crow, to redlining, to the GI Bill have all made it so that black people are less likely to have the money to buy the same justice that others can.

There is certainly an element of personal choice to everything. And certainly I have had white acquaintances who got busted for heavy things (larceny, burglary, heroin x 5) and went away for awhile. That said, there's a pattern here that is greater than individual choice.

I am not a convicted felon because I live in the right neighborhood, had the right sort of parents, and never got busted for any crime. I don't think that my story would be the same if I were African American or poor.

If we accept that more black people are convicted because more black people do crime-- which I wouldn't-- then one still has to ask why is that so? Is it because black people were born somehow inherently incapable of making good decisions? That doesn't seem likely.

As for your second question, the only dealers I've been acquainted with were supporting a habit or making some side money. I have read an ethnography or so that shows the ultimate hourly wage of a crack dealer at the height of the crack boom to be less than minimum wage, tho.

I know what you mean, but it's not only a possible excuse, it's also one of the factual causes. When your whole world tells you that education and a job aren't an option, that crime is your destiny, it's extremely hard to choose a different path.

This book opened my eyes on the issue. The author isn't blind to the moral side of things but set out to describe a bad neighborhood in detail. It's a great but depressing read.

I read an ethnography called "In Search of Respect" that details the lives of the impoverished in the Barrio in New York during the 1980s. It covers in depth the societal and cultural conditions that create drug and gang violence. Yes, there are many people who just draw on welfare, but many of those people work in the untaxed workforce. They might be the neighborhood plumber, electrician, automotive repairman, or refrdgerator specialist. They don't have formal jobs or titles or pay taxes so they are unaccounted for. These people also sell drugs and steal car stereos. Its all part of their 'underground' economy. In fact, many drug dealers start selling either because they became unemployed, or they were trying to lift themselves out of poverty.