Overview
The Sociology Reference Guide series is designed to provide a solid foundation for the research of various sociologicaltopics. This volume offers an introduction to major concepts in law and social order, criminal deviance, and criminaldetention. Readers will especially gain a broad overview of criminal behavior in essays that explore crime in differentdemographic groups in America. The collection begins with essays on law and order as constituted through the police andcourt systems and it follows with general accounts of how criminal acts are defined and socially constructed. An analysisof specific criminal behaviors is then provided, and the organization and effect of crime groups are explored alongsidegang and juvenile criminal behavior. The remaining two essays explore issues within and outside of the penal system.
