Description: Over the last two decades, there has been increased interest in the distribution of crime and other antisocial behavior at lower levels of geography. The focus on micro geography and its contribution to the understanding and prevention of crime has been called the 'criminology of place'. It pushes scholars to examine small geographic areas within cities, often as small as addresses or street segments, for their contribution to crime. Here, the authors describe what is known about crime and place, providing the most up-to-date and comprehensive review available. Place Matters shows that the study of criminology of place should be a central focus of criminology in the twenty-first century. It creates a tremendous opportunity for advancing our understanding of crime, and for addressing it. The book brings together eighteen top scholars in criminology and place to provide comprehensive research expanding across different themes.
Brief description: John E. Eck is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He has conducted research on policing, crime places, and crime prevention since 1977. He is a former Research Director for the Police Executive Research Forum. There, he studied investigative operations, police anti-drug strategies, and helped field test and develop a problem-oriented approach to policing. Eck's Ph.D. dissertation (University of Maryland, 1994) developed the idea of 'place management'. He joined the faculty of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati in 1998.
Review Quotes: "Any serious criminologist needs to be thoroughly conversant with this outstanding book. Written by a team of leading scholars, it offers a criminology for the twenty-first century by showing that place is central to explaining and controlling crime."
Ron Clarke, Rutgers University, New Jersey