Children are murder victims, too. To have one’s child murdered is the ultimate nightmare—families must deal not only with
their own grief and anger but with the police and the media as well. This program examines how parents of murdered children
are also victims of the crime. For them, there can be no question of mercy for the criminal, as there is no remission of
pain. (26 minutes)
No one name has become more closely identified with a particular period in history than Al Capone and the 1920s. As head of
the Chicago branch of the organized crime families, Capone controlled prostitution, bootlegging, gambling, drugs, and the
other enterprises that fed the coffers of Chicago’s gangster barons. Disputes were common among rival mobs, and when gang
warfare broke out, Capone had the final word at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. He successfully avoided the law until
treasury agents caught him on charges of income tax evasion. He died in a federal prison, but his name will remain alive in
the imaginations of Americans fascinated by the Roaring Twenties. (12 minutes)
What is the right way to interrogate victims, witnesses, and suspects? And, of equal instructive value, what is the wrong
way? This program investigates both, as trained British actors apply the principles of cognitive interviewing, conversation
management, and nonverbal communication in a series of unscripted Q-and-A sessions related to a purse-snatching. Segments
dramatizing the incident from the victim’s and witness’s points of view are also included. In addition, film clips of a
totally separate mugging are included—ideal for use as a witness/interrogator practice exercise. (62 minutes)
With one gun for every ten people, the UN considers the small arms crisis one of the gravest challenges facing the world. As
well as investigating the proliferation of firearms and the economic, political, and cultural reasons why people carry them,
this award-winning program shows what is being done to curb a man-made pestilence. Both devastation and successful
disarmament are seen in case studies from Albania, Mozambique, South Africa, Colombia, El Salvador, and the world’s largest
small arms manufacturer, the United States. Discussing these issues are Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations;
Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament; Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF; and Robert Wall of
the Firearms and Explosives Unit at Interpol.
The Rodney King incident in Los Angeles brought to a roar the gradually increasing murmurs around the country about "police
brutality." Police departments everywhere are under attack from people who feel some cops are going too far. This specially
adapted Donahue program provides a platform for some so-called "bad" cops who say they’re getting a bum rap from the people
they were hired to serve and protect. (28 minutes)
Closed captioned
When Peggy Carr died of an undiagnosed ailment and her two sons became violently ill, medical tests indicated that all three
were poisoned by thallium, leaving her husband, Pye, under suspicion. In this program, an FBI specialist creates a
psychological profile of the killer—a profile that does not match Pye Carr. Using the results to widen the list of possible
perpetrators, the Carrs’ next-door neighbor, an unemployed chemist and convicted felon, is charged with the crimes. (24
minutes)
At the Body Farm, the
dead speak. This clinical
program travels to the
world’s first open-air
crime lab with founder
Bill
Bass, of The University
of Tennessee, for a
close-up look at how
cadavers decay. As
proxies for murder
victims, these
decomposing bodies are
studied in the name of
science and the cause of
justice. Factors and
biological markers that
help
pinpoint time since
death, including wind and
weather, insects and
carnivores, fire damage,
soft tissue leachate,
mold, and
bacteria, are addressed.
Three homicide cases that
hinged on data and
expertise gained at the
Farm are presented, and
Ph.D.
students are filmed doing
field work and body
processing.
Description:
More than a century of scientific research has indicated that the majority of crime that occurs in society is committed by a small percentage of the population, meaning that most criminals are repeat offenders, or "career criminals." If societies devoted considerable resources toward preventing and neutralizing career criminals, there would be dramatic reductions in crime, the fear of crime, and the assorted costs and collateral consequences of crime.
Career Criminals in Society examines the small but dangerous group of repeat offenders who are most damaging to society. The book encourages readers to think critically about the causes of criminal behavior and the potential of the criminal justice system to reduce crime. Author Matt DeLisi draws upon his own practitioner experience interviewing criminal defendants to argue that career criminals can be combated only with a combination of prevention efforts and retributive criminal justice system policies.
Key Features
Uses an engaging writing style to provide a comprehensive overview of career criminals
Provides chapter-opening vignettes developed from real criminal cases
Examines various crime prevention strategies to neutralize criminal careers
Explores the international relevance of career criminals
Draws upon research from the fields of criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, and human development
With its controversial, thought-provoking style, Career Criminals in Society is sure to advance theory and research on chronic offenders and inspire discussions on how to adequately control crime. It is an excellent supplementary textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses on criminology, criminal behavior, crime typologies, deviant behavior, and crime control and prevention.
