Criminology: A Brief Introduction

Criminology: A Brief Introduction is an easy to use criminology text that teaches students about the exciting field of criminology using the learning skills they already possess. In recognition of the visual orientation of today's learners we sought to achieve a comprehensive integration of graphic art with the concepts and ideas of criminology. Consequently, Criminology: A Brief Introduction is intensely visual. Its layout and design invite readers to explore its pages, while powerfully illustrating the critical concepts that are central to the field of criminology today. Our intent is to visually attract readers to the subject matter of criminology, making for ease of learning.

Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he also was recognized as Distinguished Professor. Dr. Schmalleger holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Ohio State University, having earned both a master’s (1970) and a doctorate in sociology (1974) from Ohio State University with a special emphasis in criminology. From 1976 to 1994, he taught criminal justice courses at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. For the last 16 of those years, he chaired the university’s Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. As an adjunct professor with Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, Schmalleger helped develop the university’s graduate program in security administration and loss prevention. He taught courses in that curriculum for more than a decade. Schmalleger has also taught in the New School for Social Research’s online graduate program, helping build the world’s first electronic classrooms in support of distance learning through computer telecommunications. An avid Web user and site builder, Schmalleger is also the creator of award-winning World Wide Web sites, including the Prentice Hall Cybrary.

Frank Schmalleger is the author of numerous articles and many books, including the widely used Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (Pearson, 2011), now in an eleventh edition; Juvenile Delinquency (with Clemmens Bartollas; Pearson, 2011), Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction, eighth edition (Pearson, 2010); Criminal Law Today, fourth edition (with Daniel Hall and John Dolatowski; Pearson, 2011); Crime and the Justice System in America: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997); Trial of the Century: People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson (Prentice Hall, 1996); Career Paths: A Guide to Jobs in Federal Law Enforcement (Regents/Prentice Hall, 1994); Computers in Criminal Justice (Wyndham Hall Press, 1991); Criminal Justice Ethics (Greenwood Press, 1991); Finding Criminal Justice in the Library (Wyndham Hall Press, 1991); Ethics in Criminal Justice (Wyndham Hall Press, 1990); A History of Corrections (Foundations Press of Notre Dame, 1983); and The Social Basis of Criminal Justice (University Press of America, 1981). Schmalleger is also founding editor of the journal Criminal Justice Studies (formerly The Justice Professional).

Schmalleger’s philosophy of both teaching and writing can be summed up in these words: “In order to communicate knowledge we must first catch, then hold, a person’s interest–be it student, colleague, or policymaker. Our writing, our speaking, and our teaching must be relevant to the problems facing people today, and they must–in some way–help solve those problems.”