Product Review

Victimology, 7th Edition, introduces students to the criminal justice system in the United States and its impact on crime victims. Authors William Doerner and Steven Lab provide a fresh look at the theoretical basis of victimology and then present the key facets of crime and its effects. They examine financial and social costs both to the individual and to the larger community. This new edition brings forward the theoretical foundation of victimology into Part 1 to establish a clear conceptual framework and reduce repetition. Emerging trends in the field receive greater emphasis in this edition, including non-adversarial resolution options that offer remediation for crime victims. Crimes like intimate-partner violence and victimization in the work or school environment continue to take a toll, and the authors examine efforts to prevent these crimes as well as responses after an incident occurs. Doerner and Lab challenge students to rethink the current response to crime victims and to develop improved approaches to this costly social issue. Online supplements are available for both professors and students.

This breakthrough work provides an organizing structure for the history and current state of the field of victimology, and outlines the reasons compelling a separate focus on crime victims. Highly readable, Victimology explores the role of victimology in today’s criminal justice system, examining the consequences of victimization and the various remedies now available for victims. A new chapter covers the important implications of restorative justice. The text is supplemented by illustrative figures and tables as well as learning objectives, key terms and a listing of related Internet sites.