Book Reviews : Crime In Biological, Social And Moral Contexts, edited by Lee Ellis and Harry Hoffman. Praeger Publishers, 1990. 321 pp. hardcover
| Author | Simon Dinitz |
| Published date | 01 December 1991 |
| Date | 01 December 1991 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/088740349100500407 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
349
to
give
both
the
book
and
this
section
a
solid
theoretical
and
empirical
founda-
tion.
They
offer
a
wide
array
of
information
on
women
offenders,
including
some
fascinating
historical
accounts
of
female
criminals
in
the
old
west
as
well
as
a
solid
review
of
the
more
recent
literature
on
women’s
offending.
Other
pieces
in
the
section
are
important,
but
in
need
of
updating.
The
piece
on
women
in
prison,
for
example,
does
not
incorporate
the
widely
cited
American
Correc-
tional
Association
study
on
the
characteristics
of
women
in
prison,
and
makes
only
passing
reference
to
the
soaring
numbers
of
women
in
U.S.
prisons.
The
editor
is,
however,
to
be
commended
for
including
chapters
on
innovative
programs
for
women
offenders;
these
sorts
of
programs,
as
well
as
others
tailored
to
women’s
needs,
will
be
key
features
of
policies
to
reduce
reliance
on
our
incarceration
as
a
response
to
women’s
crime.
In
sum,
no
collection
is
perfect,
and
given
the
explosion
of
literature
in
the
area,
Moyer’s
volume
has
much
to
recommend
it.
Those
academics
and
policy
makers
looking
for
a
solid
overview
of
the
many
developments
in
the
field
of
women
and
crime
in
one
book
would
do
well
to
consult
this
offering.
Meda
Chesney-Lind
University
of
Hawaii
at
Manoa
Crime
In
Biological,
Social
And
Moral
Contexts,
edited
by
Lee
Ellis
and
Harry
Hoffman.
Praeger
Publishers,
1990. 321
pp.
hardcover.
Fueled
by
recent
advances
in
molecular
biology
and
in
the
neurosciences
which
suggest
biological
substrates
to
deviant
behavior,
criminologists
have
been
forced
to
think
anew
about
the
etiology
of
specific
forms
of
criminality.
Since
most
American
criminologist
are
trained
in
the
social
and
behavioral
sciences,
the
language,
methodologies,
concepts
and
theories
of
the
biosciences
are
foreign
and
often
difficult
to
assimilate.
As
a
result,
genetic,
neurological
and
neurochemical
insights
that
may
be
important
to
criminological
theory
and
practice
remain
unknown
or
misunderstood
or
rejected
out-of-hand
as
&dquo;Neo-
Lombrosian&dquo;
or
as
a
return
to
phrenology.
Lee
Ellis
and
Harry
Hoffman
have
produced
a
useful
compendium
on
the
biosocial
perspective
in
criminality
in
which
both
general
and
specific
biogenic
theories
are
presented
and
argued.
It
is
an
important
introduction
to
the
field
and,
if
nothing
else,
dispels
for
criminologists
some
of
the
mystery
about
biological
thinking
and
contributions-realized
and
potential-often
as-
sociated
with
the
discipline.
The
material
is
readable,
the
references
are
numerous
and
up-to-date,
the
scope
of
the
articles
broad
and
general.
With
an
exception
or
two,
the
articles
are
designed
for
the
non-specialist
reader
and
make
no
presumption
of
a
background
in
biology.
Crime
in
Biological,
Social
and
Moral
Contexts
consists
of
17
generally
short
and
pithy
chapters
grouped
into
four
parts-the
biosocial
perspective,
evolutionary
and
genetic
aspects
of
criminality,
neurochemical
aspects
in
etiology,
and
biosocial
theorizing
about
pro/antisociality.
Ellis
is
author
or
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