'About Criminals' presents recent research on criminal behaviour. The text adopts a 'naturalistic' approach which allows criminals to discuss their offences and lifestyles from their own perspective.

The purpose of this book is to present students with recent and important research on criminal behavior. The methodological approach taken is termed "naturalistic", one which allows criminals to discuss their offenses and lifestyles from their own perspective. Having offenders' voices heard along with the researchers' analysis offers students a real life view of what, how, and why various criminals behave the way they do. In short, the field studies conducted by the authors for all the articles in this anthology should provide the reader with a realistic portrayal of just what actual offenders say about crime and their participation in it.

Introduction - M. Pogrebin Part I. Property Crimes 1. Searching a Dwelling: Deterrence and the Undeterred Burglar - R. Wright 2. Who Buys Stolen Property? - P. Cromwell, J. Olson, &
D. W. Avary 3. Sneaky Thrills - J. Katz 4. Urban Graffiti: Crime, Control, and Resistance - J. Farrell Part II. Violent Crimes 5. Convicted Murders' Accounts of Their Crimes: A Case Study of Homicide in Small Communities - M. Ray, &
R. Simonds 6. Motives of Reward Among Men Who Rape - R.
Hale 7. Stick-Up, Street Culture, and Offender Motivation - B. Jacobs, &
R. Wright 8. Dubs and Dees, Beats and Rims: Carjackers and Urban Violence - V. Topalli, &
R. Wright Part III. Sex Crimes 9. The Second Step in Double Jeopardy: Appropriating the Labor of Female Hustlers - K. Romenesko, &
E. Miller 10. Accounts of Professional Misdeeds: The Sexual Exploitation of Clients by Psychotherapists - M. Pogrebin, E. Poole, &
J. Martinez 11. Sex Offender Community Notification: Managing High Risk Criminal or Exacting Further Vengeance? - R. Sevitz, &
M. Farkas 12. Aural Assault: Obscene Phone Calls - P. Warner Part IV. White Collar - Occupational Crime 13. Drugged Druggists: The Convergence of Two Criminal Career Trajectories - D. Dabeny &
R. Hollinger 14. Doctors Tell Their Stories. Prescription for Profit: How Doctors Defraud Medicaid - P. Jeslow, H. Pontell, &
G. Geiss 15. Managing the Action: Sport Book-Makers as Entrepreneurs - P. Coontz 16. Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in White Collar Crime - M. Benson Part V. Gangs and Crime 17. Collective and Normative Features of Gang Violence - S. Decker 18. Homeboys, Dope Fiends, Legits and New Jacks - J. Hedgedorn 19. The Perception of Gangs as a Problem in Nonmetropolitan Areas - R. Weisheit, &
E.
Wells 20. Gender and Victimization: Risk Taking Among Women in Gangs - J. Miller Part VI. Drugs and Crime 21. Narcotics Addicts' Hustling Strategies: Creation and Manipulation of Ambiguity - B. Lex 22. Crack Dealing on the Street: The Crew System and the Crack House - T. Miezckowski 23. Perceived Risks and Criminal Justice Pressures on Middle-Class Cocaine Dealers - D. Waldorf, &
S. Murphy 24. Women in the Street-Level Drug Economy: Continuity or Change? - L. Maher, &
K. Daly Part VII. Gender and Crime 25. Women Who Kill in Drug Market Situations - H. Browstein, H. Spunt, B. Crimmins, &
S. Langley 26. Up It Up: Gender and the Accomplishment of Street Robbery - J. Miller 27. A Successful Female Crack Dealer: A Case Study of a Deviant Career - E. Dunlap,
B. Johnson, &
A. Manwar 28. Citizens and Outlaws: The Private lives and Public Lifestyles of Women in the Illicit Drug Economy - P. Morgan, &
K. A. Joe Part VIII. Desistance from Crime 29. The Post Phase of Deviant Careers: Reintegrating Drug Traffickers - P. Adler 30. Getting Out of the Life: Crime Desistance by Female Street Offenders - I. Sommers, D. Baskin, &
J. Fagan 31. Becoming Normal: Certification as a Stage in Exiting From Crime - T. Mesenhelder