Crime and Everyday Life

by Marcus Felson

Entertainingly written and a model for how theory develops from empirical evidence, the Second Edition of this popular book is the perfect supplementary text for introductory criminology courses. The book provides an insightful analysis of the "other side" of crime causation, examining how society encourages or inhibits crime in the routine activities of everyday life.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Samara 1234 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me as a beginner friendly text on criminology. I’d have to say that chapters 1 (Fallacies and Truths About Crime), 5 (Adolescence, Home Life, and Social Control), and 6 (Large Schools for Adolescence) were particularly interesting to me as they challenged what I thought I knew about crime and helped contextualize the work that I do (i.e. working with high school youths with school disciplinary referrals).

I’d recommend all civilians to read chapter 1 which pretty much discredits what I believed (and I think a lot of other people would too) crime to be: an overgrowing boogeyman constantly lurking behind us; and that as a society we stray further and further from God’s light lol. In reality, crime rates have decreased since the 90s, which just so happens to be when this book was published (1994). In that, the author describes most crimes as “ordinary” and “undramatic”, as well as “involving little ingenuity, draw(ing) offenders and victims who are much younger than is commonly believed, and are far less tied to the police and criminal justice system than is commonly stated” (pg. 20 and 21).

Bigger schools have lesser social control and this can explain why these larger physical spaces may produce more crime. Towards the end of the book, the author mentions the concept of natural crime prevention and lists different examples of its being “introduced incrementally into many parts of our society” by basically “imitating activity patterns of everyday life as already observed in nature”. Isn’t that such a beautiful way to put it ?!

More and more, I am drawn to the simplistic nature of doing and being. Let’s go back to the basics, man.

[Victoria Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to read this for a critique in my criminology class, both authors invite you to look past emotions and motivations and look at how opportunities contribute to crime. really interesting book and i definitely recommend it to those in the criminal justice world!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my dissertation next year, Chapter 6 will be most useful: When Crime Feeds Crime. Probably wise to invest in this book when it's possible.