Victimology

Victimology, 7th Edition, introduces students to the criminal justice system in the United States and its impact on crime victims. Authors William Doerner and Steven Lab provide a fresh look at the theoretical basis of victimology and then present the key facets of crime and its effects. They examine financial and social costs both to the individual and to the larger community. This new edition brings forward the theoretical foundation of victimology into Part 1 to establish a clear conceptual framework and reduce repetition. Emerging trends in the field receive greater emphasis in this edition, including non-adversarial resolution options that offer remediation for crime victims. Crimes like intimate-partner violence and victimization in the work or school environment continue to take a toll, and the authors examine efforts to prevent these crimes as well as responses after an incident occurs. Doerner and Lab challenge students to rethink the current response to crime victims and to develop improved approaches to this costly social issue. Online supplements are available for both professors and students.

This breakthrough work provides an organizing structure for the history and current state of the field of victimology, and outlines the reasons compelling a separate focus on crime victims. Highly readable, Victimology explores the role of victimology in today’s criminal justice system, examining the consequences of victimization and the various remedies now available for victims. A new chapter covers the important implications of restorative justice. The text is supplemented by illustrative figures and tables as well as learning objectives, key terms and a listing of related Internet sites.

William G. Doerner has been a Professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University since 1977. He specializes in victimology and law enforcement issues. He earned his M.A. in Sociology at Emory University (1973) and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Tennessee (1977). Doerner recently retired from active duty with the Tallahassee Police Department after 29 years of service as a part-time sworn law enforcement officer. He served on the Board of Directors for the National Organization of Victim Assistance, was the Founding President of the Florida Network of Victim/Witness Services, is past Director of the Program in Criminal Justice at Florida State University, and a previous editor of the American Journal of Criminal Justice. In addition to other professional accolades, Doerner received the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from the Southern Criminal Justice Association and was a winner of the John P.J. Dussich Award from the American Society of Victimology. An article he and his son published in Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management was designated one of four outstanding papers of the year in 2012.

Steven P. Lab is Professor of Criminal Justice and Chair of the Department of Human Services. He holds a Ph.D. in Criminology from the Florida State University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Dr. Lab is the author or coauthor of five books, the editor/coeditor of two readers, and coeditor of one encyclopedia. He is the author of more than 50 articles or book chapters and has presented more than 70 papers to academic or professional societies. He is a past editor of the Journal of Crime and Justice and has been an assistant editor or on the editorial boards of several additional journals. Dr. Lab has been a visiting professor at the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science of the University College London and at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, as well as a Visiting Fellow at Loughborough University (England) and a Research Consultant with the Perpetuity Research Group at Leicester University (England). Dr. Lab has received grant funding for several large research projects from the National Institute of Justice, and has served as a consultant to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Arizona Governor’s Office, and various offices of the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Lab is also a past-president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.