The Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge recently undertook a comprehensive study of the literature on criminal deterrence, concentrating on recent research. The result, published in this book, examines the popular claim that deterrence works. That it works in general terms is beyond dispute, but the claim most favored by law-makers is narrower: that tougher sentences has a direct impact on criminal behavior, limiting the number and severity of offenses committed. This study seeks to discover the truth of that claim. Deterrence is a penal aim, is a broad subject, hence the...

Crime is largely an urban phenomenon, but the specifically urban and area dimen- sions of the social processes that are connected with crime have been seriously understated in much recent criminological work ... Such a claim could not have been made forty years ago. (Baldwin & Bottoms, 1976, p. 1). The above statement by Baldwin and Bottoms about the neglect in crimi- nology of the urban dimension of crime was made in the mid-1970s. However, in the last decade there has been a significant upswing in theory and research on crime in the urban environment. Also, new areas oftheory and research...