The Marginalization of State Crime in Introductory Textbooks on Criminology

Abstract

This article reviews how introductory textbooks on criminology, geared toward the American market, have disproportionately ignored the subject matter of state crime. The authors present both qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence of coverage given to crimes of the state from leading introductory textbooks, and then pose several questions for future research that could provide answers as to why this is the case. Ross and Rothe then contacted the authors of these books to request feedback on their decision-making processes used for content inclusion and/or exclusion; specifically why their texts offered only limited coverage on state crime. The authors conclude that market dynamics, coupled with professional intransigence, has contributed to this state of affairs.

Keywords: content analysis, criminology textbooks, state crime, quantitative evidence, empirical evidence, textbook analysis

JEL Classification: K14, L82, L89