Why has America experienced an explosion in crime rates since 1960? Why has the crime rate dropped in recent years? Though politicians are always ready both to take the credit for crime reduction and to exploit grisly headlines for short-term political gain, these questions remain among the most important-and most difficult to answer-in America today. In Crime & Politics, award-winning journalist Ted Gest gives readers the inside story of how crime policy is formulated inside the Washington beltway and state capitols, why we've had cycle after cycle of ineffective federal legislation, and where promising reforms might lead us in the future. Gest examines how politicians first made crime a national rather than a local issue, beginning with Lyndon Johnson's crime commission and the landmark anti-crime law of 1968 and continuing right up to such present-day measures as "three strikes" laws, mandatory sentencing, and community policing. Gest exposes a lack of consistent leadership, backroom partisan politics, and the rush to embrace simplistic solutions as the main causes for why Federal and state crime programs have failed to make our streets safe. But he also explores how the media aid and abet this trend by featuring lurid crimes that simultaneously frighten the public and encourage candidates to offer another round of quick-fix solutions. Drawing on extensive research and including interviews with Edwin Meese, Janet Reno, Joseph Biden, Ted Kennedy, and William Webster, Crime & Politics uncovers the real reasons why America continues to struggle with the crime problem and shows how we do a better job in the future.

Critical Issues in Crime and Justice, Second Edition provides a comprehensive examination of current developments and controversies confronting the American criminal justice system. An overview of contemporary criminal justice trends provides the context for interpreting the critical issues raised throughout this engaging volume. Editor Albert R. Roberts and a prominent group of scholars and criminal justice professionals examine both the successes and failures of modern law enforcement, juvenile justice, the courts, and correctional systems. Developed for courses on Critical Issues in Criminal Justice, Special Issues in Criminal Justice, and Contemporary Topics in Criminal Justice, Critical Issues in Crime and Justice, Second Edition is also an excellent supplementary text for introductory Criminal Justice and related courses.

With a foreword by Bruce Western Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR The most comprehensive critique of probation and parole—and a provocative and compelling argument for abolishing both—from the former Probation Commissioner of New York City Imagine if probation didn't exist. And I came to you with $80 million and 30,000 people the courts considered troubled and troubling. And you could do anything you wanted with that money to make New York City safer and help people turn their lives around. Would you go out and hire a thousand civil service-protected bureaucrats to supervise people as they piss in a cup once a week, and to tell them to go forth and sin no more? —Vincent Schiraldi’s Job Interview with NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg We’ve heard a lot in recent years about the nearly 2.1 million people incarcerated in American prisons and jails. But what about the approximately 4 million more who are on probation and parole—monitored by the state at great expense and at risk of being sent to prison at the whim of a probation or parole officer for the least imaginable infraction? Vincent Schiraldi was New York City probation commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg, supervising a system charged with monitoring 30,000 people on a daily basis. In Mass Supervision, he combines firsthand experience with deep research on the inadequately explored practices of probation and parole, to illustrate how these forms of state supervision have strayed from their original goal of providing constructive and rehabilitative alternatives to prison. They have become instead, Schiraldi argues, a “recidivism trap” for people trying to lead productive lives in the wake of a criminal conviction. Schiraldi offers the first full and up-to-date account of these two key aspects of our criminal justice system, showing that these practices increase incarceration, have little impact on crime rates, and needlessly disrupt countless lives. Ultimately, he argues that they should be dramatically downsized or even abolished completely.

The fifth edition of this leading “essentials” textbook on corrections has been fully revised and updated to include new international comparative data, and a fresh chapter on prison inmates with special needs. Unrivalled in scope, it offers undergraduates a concise but comprehensive introduction to the subject. Includes textual materials and assignments formulated to encourage students’ critical thinking skills Chapters feature text boxes on key points of correctional theory and on international correctional practice Presented in full color throughout — including extensive photos and graphics Includes stand-alone chapters on careers in corrections, gender and ethnicity issues, and likely future developments in corrections Features invaluable historical context on the evolution of correctional theory and practice Offers a new, comprehensive online Student Study Guide and thoroughly updated and expanded ancillary materials