1. Commentary

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to achieve the following objectives:

Chapter 1

• Understand how public policies on crime are formed
• Recognize how the crime control and due process models of criminal justice help us understand the system
• Be able to explain: "What Is a Crime?"
• Describe the major types of crime in the United States
• Analyze how much crime there is and understand how it is measured

Chapter 2

• Understand who becomes the victims of crime
• Recognize the impacts of crime on society
• Identify the justice system's responses to the needs of crime victims
• Understand the theories put forward to explain criminal behavior
• Analyze crime causation theories and apply them to different groups of offenders

Reading Assignment

• Chapters One and Two (pgs. 1-75).

Learning Tools

The Cole, Smith Companion Site contains puzzles, flashcards, chapter glossaries, and websites to reinforce the reading materials.

To use the tools, select a chapter from the Select a chapter... menu.