NCJ Number
166203
Editor(s)
M Tonry
Date Published
1997
Length
440 pages
Annotation
This volume reviews criminal justice research on hate crimes, crime and conflict, homicide, advocacy and social policy, probation, the impact of gender and race on sentencing, juvenile justice, the role of criminal record in the sentencing process, and sentencing principles.
Abstract
The first article in the volume indicates that, although many jurisdictions have enacted laws to increase the punishment for hate crimes, the relatively new creation of a hate crime category fills political and symbolic functions. The hate crime category, however, is not likely to provide a useful indication of the state of various prejudices or to reduce crime generated by prejudice. Subsequent articles note that criminological theories are usually framed in sociological terms but involve psychological assumptions, that advocacy research has a long history, that probation has considerable unused potential in reducing recidivism and drug use, and that race and gender pose empirical and policy problems for the criminal justice system. Other articles examine criticisms of the juvenile justice system, the important role played by an offender's criminal history in the sentencing process, and theoretical and practical dimensions of sentencing practices. References, tables, and figures