Full Description
For courses in crime prevention, introduction to criminal justice, and criminal justice policy.
Balanced, comprehensive introduction to crime control
Crime Control in America: What Works? provides comprehensive coverage of what works in policing, prosecution, courts, and legislative methods of crime control. It also moves beyond the justice system and examines the effectiveness of crime control at the individual, family, school, and community levels. Finally, it covers environmental criminology and explanations of large-scale crime trends. The 4th edition includes new sections covering the most current and controversial topics in crime control, including the alleged Ferguson effect, immigration enforcement, raising the age of majority, and mass shootings.
Contents
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: Identifying and Evaluating Crime Control
Crime Control and Prevention
The Crime Problem in America
Types of Crimes
The Ever-Expanding Criminal Law
Incidence of Crime
Costs of Crime and Criminals
Is Fear of Crime Worse Than Crime Itself?
Approaches, Not Just Policies
Laws
Official Policies, Written and Unwritten
Unofficial Approaches
On the Importance of Definitions
Defining the Crime Problem
Defining the Solution
Defining the Desired Outcome
Evaluating Success: An Impossible Task?
The Hard and Soft Sciences
The Elusive Criminal Justice Experiment
You Can Prove Anything with Statistics
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Macro- and Micro-Level Crime Control
Displacement and Diffusion
Measuring Displacement and Diffusion
The Tentative Nature of Scientific Knowledge
The Measures Used
When New Data Become Available
Alternative Settings: The Generalization Problem
Other Concerns
Funding and Political Priorities
Academic Crusaders and Bandwagon Science
Evidence-Based Justice
Effective Does Not Always Mean Best
A Preview of the Book
Guns and Drugs: The Real Attention Getters
Summary
Notes
Chapter 2: Crime Control Perspectives
Operational Perspectives
Due Process and Crime Control
Due Process Values
Crime Control Values
System and Nonsystem
A Well-Oiled Machine?
A Disorganized Mess?
The Funnel Model of Justice
The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake
Political Perspectives
Liberals and Conservatives
Causes of Crime
Consequences of Crime for Society
What Should Be Done About Crime?
Consensus and Conflict
Causes of Crime
Consequences of Crime for Society
What Should Be Done About Crime?
Other Perspectives
Faith and Fact
Crime Control and Revenue Generation
Politics and Ivory Towers
Goals of Crime Control
Deterrence
General and Specific Deterrence
Absolute and Marginal Deterrence
