Behind the Bars

Bank robbers. Who are they? Where do they come from? What motivates individuals to commit these crimes? Behind the Bars: Experiences in Crime examines these questions in this intriguing study of the life situations, relationships, and value systems of people who commit serious crimes. Based on eight years of research with law enforcement officials, the media, and interviews with more than eighty Canadian and American bank robbers, Behind the Bars goes behind the facelessness of the crime itself and into the hearts and minds of the offenders. Meet an ex-police officer, drug addicts, compulsive gamblers, a senior citizen, two con-authors, an exotic dancer, family men, informants, and career criminals. Their strikingly candid stories will inspire a great range of emotions, but most of all they will provide greater understanding of criminal behaviour. Frederick J. Desroches humanizes the offender by shedding signficant light on the social and economic conditions of offenders; on the dynamics of criminal partnerships; and on the problems many of these men experience and bring on themselves. Desroches balances the passion of criminals' stories with thematic and theoretical overviews of specific issues to create an exciting account that will capture the attention and imagination of any reader who has ever wondered why criminals commit crimes.