Criminological Theory

"I think this book does an absolutely fantastic job at capturing the balance between ‘quality versus quantity’ of coverage."

—Adam Trahan, University of North Texas



Criminological Theory: The Essentials, Third Edition offers students a brief yet comprehensive overview of classic and contemporary criminologists and their theories. Putting criminological theory in context, acclaimed author Stephen G. Tibbetts examines policy implications brought about by theoretical perspectives to demonstrate to students the practical application of theories to contemporary social problems. 



New to the Third Edition:

• A new chapter dedicated entirely to feminist perspectives (Chapter 10) introduces students to feminist models of crime while underscoring the importance of examining the related research.


• Case studies that examine offender motives are now included to help students apply the theories discussed to interesting and memorable examples.


• Policy is now integrated into each section to allow students to see the practical policy implications of each theory. 


• Coverage of critical topics has been expanded throughout to introduce students to important issues, such as the influence of employment on criminal behavior, the success of school programs in reducing delinquent behavior, and federal sentencing guidelines in regard to crack versus powder cocaine.


• Statistics, graphs, and tables have all been updated to demonstrate the most recent trends in criminology.

Instructors, sign in at study.sagepub.com/tibbetts3e for a Microsoft Word test bank, Microsoft PowerPoint slides, Lecture notes, and more!