Crime is not the problem lethal violence in America - Zimring, Franklin E. 1942- (Oxford University Press, 1997)
Includes bibliographical references (p. [253]-259) and index
Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- The American difference -- Correlates and causes -- Prevention -- Appendix 1. Explaining distributions of violence versus levels of violence -- Appendix 2. Assault in New York City and London -- Appendix 3. Patterns of three violent crimes in the United States -- Appendix 4. Race and lethal violence: a five-city comparison -- Appendix 5. Studies of mass communications and homicide -- Appendix 6. Drugs and homicide in the District of Columbia: a research note -- References -- Index
This text has three main aims: the first is to show that what separates the USA from other countries is not crime rates but lethal violence. Crimes like burglary and theft are a part of modern urban life worldwide; shootings and stabbings are not - they are particularly American. Why is this so? Secondly, the book seeks to clarify the causes of violence by looking at the proximate causes of deadly violence - guns, violence in the media, drugs and the tradition of lethal violence are all examined. The concluding section of the book concerns the prevention of lethal violence as a priority issue. The authors discuss a range of anti-violence alternatives from change in the criminal law to social and physical environmental factors and social values and attitudes