This book presents a summary of the key ideas that seek to explain criminal behaviour and the measures that have been developed to prevent crime. A broad overview of the criminal justice system is provided in order to explain the operations of the key criminal justice agencies and the processes that are involved in bringing offenders to justice. Readers are encouraged to develop the basic knowledge they have obtained in these areas by tackling a number of questions, making use of additional reading of key texts suggested in the book.

Attention is devoted to key sources from which information regarding crime and the criminal justice system can be explained. Good practice regarding the presentation and assessment of written work is also provided, in particular in connection with referencing. Readers are also introduced to the wide variety of methods that can be used to carry out criminological research and are invited to engage in exercises that include the marking of sample essays and the design of a questionnaire.