Introduction to Criminology

Reviewed by Youngki Woo, Assistant professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/17/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book is authored by Canadian scholars, including professors and doctoral students, who offer diverse, equitable, and inclusive perspectives. The contributors also share their cultural backgrounds, referencing their ancestors—a crucial aspect of ongoing debates about race, ethnicity, the history of slavery and oppression, and criminal justice. However, the book lacks critical information on criminological theories that students should be familiar with.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

There are cultural and grammatical differences in the use and spelling of English terms between American and Canadian/British English.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

This book provides a strong historical perspective on colonialism and slavery, highlighting their continued influence on mass incarceration and criminal justice issues today. Personally, I believe this book could serve as a supplementary textbook for undergraduate courses.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is well-written. It is also presented in a straight-forward, easy to read manner. But American students may need support in identifying different theoretical approaches and understanding which ones are more dominant in the U.S. criminal justice system.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is internally consistent in terms of format and framework. The layout of the textbook is easy to navigate, and the topics are current and relevant. However, the content lacks some consistency due to the diverse perspectives of its many authors.

Modularity rating: 2

The textbook contains 17 chapters, each titled to highlight key topics and dimensions of criminological theories. Additionally, each chapter begins with a Positionality Statement from the authors, introducing their viewpoints and life stories related to the theme. However, many chapters lack critical information that a theory book should cover. In some cases, the actual content (excluding the Positionality Statement) is less than one or two pages long.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

As indicated by the table of contents, the topics in the text are presented in a clear and consistent manner. The uniform format and organization enable students to read with ease and efficiency. Unlike other criminological textbooks, the authors of each chapter primarily introduce their backgrounds before briefly discussing the main theories—an interesting and unique approach.

Interface rating: 2

I suggest that the author include more photos, images, and charts to provide examples of the key objectives discussed in each chapter. Visual representations would help readers better understand certain methodological techniques. Additionally, I recommend adding more in-depth theoretical explanations and propositions to clarify how each theoretical perspective fundamentally differs and explains criminal behavior.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no typos or technical/grammatical errors that I am aware of in the textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Personally, the text is not culturally insensitive or offensive, as it primarily discusses criminological theories.

Overall, this book provides a brief introduction to theories of crime, which may help students understand both historical and contemporary criminological approaches. It could serve as a supplementary textbook for undergraduate criminology or criminal justice courses.

Reviewed by Nicole Hansen-Rayes, Adjunct Instructor of Psychology, City Colleges of Chicago on 6/9/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is authored from a Canadian perspective that brings a very diverse, equitable, and inclusionary (DEI)-centered strategy. The contributors also state their cultural background with reference to their ancestors and this is crucial to our on-going conversations about race. ethnicity, the history of slavery and oppression, and social justice.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Of course, there are some cultural difference between American and United Kingdom use and spelling of English terms.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

There is a good historical view of colonialism and slavery that speaks to the mass incarceration and social justice issues that still permeate today.

Clarity rating: 4

American students will need some help identifying different theoretical approaches and which are more dominant in the U.S. criminal justice system.

Consistency rating: 5

The layout of this textbook is easy to navigate, topics are current and relevant, and it is summarized quite well.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters are clear and succinct as well as short in length, which. is preferred.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapter of contents for the text are as follows:
1. What is Crime?
2. Typologies and Patterns of Crime
3. Media and Crime
4. Race and Crime
5. Methods and Counting Crime
6. Biological Influences on Criminal Behaviour
7. Psychological Theories of Crime
8. Sociological Theories of Crime
9. Learning Theories
10. Critical Criminology
11. Feminist Criminology
12. Cultural Criminology
13. Green Criminology
14. Victimology
15. Crimes of the Powerful
16. Environmental Criminology
17. Restorative, Transformative Justice

Interface rating: 5

The ebook reads very smoothly with easy transition from one page to the next.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

None that I could see upon eternal review.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The section listed as "Colonialism as a Crime" is very vital to our discussions of criminology and it is so important to have BIPOC voices represented here. I think this text does that in a very thorough and thought-provoking way.

I'm currently reading deeper into this textbook and an interested in using it in my own criminology courses. There is even a foreword note about OER in the textbook as it speaks to providing equity for marginalized students!!!

Reviewed by Jeff Bry, Sociology Faculty, Minnesota State Community and Technical College on 5/25/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is very thorough, covering much of the discipline of criminology. The chapters are short and concise, which is a positive for students. Faculty may need to supplement the text with ancillary resources to provide thorough coverage of each of the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The material is well-written, concise, also appears to be quite accurate. One bias may be a sociological orientation to the material, which may suit some faculty quite well. There may also be a conflict orientation inclination to the material.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The material is quite relevant, although the early chapters definitely examine the Canadian legal and criminal justice systems. This may be problematic to American faculty, as there will need to be amendments to make this text fit the American system. There is much overlap, but my thought is the early chapters of the text would be difficult to use "as is" for American faculty.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is well-written; it is also presented in a straight-forward, easy to read manner. There is good use of the appropriate terms/jargon, also a good use of examples regarding the concepts.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is written by multiple authors, but the voice seems fairly consistent throughout the text. The transitions between chapters and authors is fairly seamless, the voice and perspective of the chapters is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is concise and easy to use. There may be need for the faculty to supplement the text, as there is certainly room to grow in terms of analysis/discussion of the material. The framework is there however, it would appear to be well suited to build upon by the individual faculty.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook is well organized and has a good flow. The voice is consistent, even though there are contributions from various authors. There may be chapters faculty may choose to omit or expand upon, but the organization and structure is very good.

Interface rating: 3

This textbook may be better suited to be in a format such as Pressbooks, as reading the text as a PDF or online may be cumbersome for students. That being said, this is a substantial textbook, which may be best suited as a PDF or online resource. In my opinion, reading the text as a PDF was a bit difficult.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The use of grammar, sentence structure etc. was very good. The text is well-written, concise and very "clean."

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The cultural context is very positive. The text uses diverse examples, it also is very inclusive in use of terms and the language used. There is a concentration on Canadian culture and social problems, especially early in the text. This should not be problematic to faculty, although may require some minor adjustments.

This is a well-written, thorough criminology textbook. The addition of ancillary resources, specifically amendments to better fit the American justice system would definitely benefit American faculty. I am excited to incorporate this textbook!