Career Criminals in Society

Matt DeLisi is College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Professor, Coordinator of Criminal Justice Studies, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University. A renowned scholar, Professor DeLisi is one of the most influential and prolific criminologists in the world with over 400 scholarly publications on an array of topics in the social, behavioral, and forensic sciences. In 2012, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for distinguished teaching and research achievement. In 2019, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science. He is the only scientist in the world who is a Fellow of both organizations. Although he publishes in multiple content areas, Professor DeLisi is most famous for his research on serious, chronic, violent, and pathological offenders. He has provided expert services and consultation on capital murder and multiple-homicide offender cases in multiple federal and state jurisdictions. In 2013, Professor DeLisi testified to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and consulted on criminal justice policy to a variety of federal stakeholders including the United States Attorney General, National Institute of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. Since 2014, Dr. DeLisi has served as a research specialist with United States Probation and Pretrial Services and engaged with scores of practitioners in the federal judiciary and correctional spheres. Prior to entering academia, Dr. DeLisi worked as a pretrial services officer for five years.

Preface Chapter 1. Introduction, Two Glimpses at the Career Criminal The Life of Crime Overview of the Book Practitioner Approach Summary Chapter 2. The Empirical Evidence of Career Criminals Introduction Historical Background of Career Criminals Biographies and Typological Studies The Modern Criminal Career Paradigm International Contributions Career Criminal Characteristics Summary: The Universality of Career Criminals Endnotes Chapter 3. Developmental Theory and Its Application Overview of Developmental Theory Patterson's Coercion Theory Moffitt's Developmental Taxonomy Sampson and Laub's Age-graded Theory of Informal Social Control and Cumulative Disadvantage Thornberry's Interactional Theory Social Development Model Developmental Theory in Action: A Review of Some Successful Prevention Policies Strategies that Help to Forestall Career Criminality Summary Endnotes Chapter 4. The Challenges Posed by Propensity Theory Overview of Propensity Theories as they relate to Career Criminals The Implicit and Explicit Role of Psychopathological Conditions Wilson and Herrnstein's Crime and Human Nature Gottfredson and Hirschi's A General Theory of Crime The Gottfredson and Hirschi Critiques Theoretical Challenges and Summary Issues Conclusion Endnotes Chapter 5. The Politics of Career Criminals Introduction The Ethical Quandaries of Prediction Media Portrayals of Career Criminals The Criminological Significance of Career Criminals The Sympathetic Life of Career Criminals The Mercurial Criminal Justice System Academics and Career Criminals Constructing the Career Criminal Conclusion Endnotes Chapter 6. The Criminal Justice System and Career Criminals Introduction and Overview The Police and Career Criminals The Courts and Career Criminals Corrections and Career Criminals Capital Punishment and Career Criminals Endnotes Chapter 7. Conclusion, Do We Have the Will to Stop Career Criminals? Overview Prevention and the Conservative Compromise Retributive Justice and the Liberal Compromise Conclusion Endnotes References