This book provides a sociological perspective on crime and criminal justice by treating social structure and social inequality as central themes in the study of crime-and major factors in society's treatment of criminals. It gives explicit attention to key sociological concepts such as poverty, gender, race, and ethnicity, and demonstrates their influence on crime. Recent coverage of major topics and current controversial issues includes computer crimes; harm reduction in society's effort to deal with illegal drug use; workplace violence; police scandals; violence against civilians; gun control; capital punishment; drug legalization; husband battering; civil disobedience; workplace violence; and racial prejudice and policing. For individuals trying to make informed judgements about why crime occurs and how society can best address this problem. m.