NCJ Number
234862
Date Published
1995
Length
346 pages
Annotation
This book examines urban criminal lifestyle and behavior.
Abstract
This book is the product of a multi-year anthropological study by a former prison administrator who spent an enormous amount of time with street criminals, both inside and outside of prison. The text constructs a picture of how these criminals evolve, and provides suggestions on how their criminal condition might be treated. This book begins with an introduction and then provides an overview of the issues. It then proceeds to follow a storyline of the criminal life, beginning with the childhood of the street criminal, and tracing that life forward until it culminates in old age. Each chapter includes numerous quotes, stories, dialogue, and other bits of collected evidence and research to help create a better picture of the mindset of the people that are examined and detailed. The final chapter of the book summarizes the content of the text and provides a detailed explanation of how public policy needs to be altered to better address urban crime in America. The evidence presented reinforces the theory that most criminals simply do not think the way the average law abiding citizen does, nor do they maintain the same set of values, or even variations on the same set of values, that the non-criminal does. While the book is clearly aimed at policymakers, understanding this mindset, and how it works, should provide baseline of understanding to anyone working to improve public safety. Notes, glossary, references, and index