Over 25,000 copies of this leading Criminology text sold. This book is about the causes of crime. More specifically, it describes the diverse and at times competing perspectives within criminology, and their attempts to explain why certain types of people engage in certain types of behaviour that have been identified as being criminal in nature. This book encourages students to think about and discuss the key questions criminologists face, such as: What kind of 'work' should we be doing, and why?; What kind of society do we want, and why?; and, How do we distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' (or 'right' and 'wrong'), and why?