Making Sense of Criminology is a clear, concise introduction for all students new to the subject. As well as introducing ideas about crime and criminals, it is intended to help students make sense of criminology as a study or discipline. The authors present criminology as a debate about assessing and evaluating information connected with crime.

The book explores the key issues, philosophies and debates in criminology, making use of a variety of writers and texts to illuminate recurring themes and tensions in the field. Students are encouraged to become aware of what constitutes data in criminology and to recognize the uses of theory in evaluating criminological problems. In a ground plan of the subject, the history of criminology is set alongside current information about the justice system and awareness of current trends in research. This provides an excellent base on which new students can build their study.

Keith Soothill is Professor of Social Research at Lancaster University; Moira Peelo and Claire Taylor are both researching in areas of criminology, also at Lancaster University.