NCJ Number
91045
Editor(s)
J Q Wilson
Date Published
1983
Length
332 pages
Annotation
These 14 essays review the latest research on the major issues related to the prevention and control of crime and present proposals for both research and policy reform.
Abstract
The papers explain such new concepts as career criminals and selective incapacitation and suggest how prosecutors, working with police, might be able systematically to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate the few criminals who are responsible for disproportionate amounts of crime. The authors also dispel a number of myths about crime, its prevention, and its control. Topics treated include the relationship of crime to unemployment, the effect of the exclusionary rule on criminal justice, and the impact of family life on crime. Among the major findings are that the people who are most at risk for criminal behavior differ significantly from the general population with respect to their body build, personality, and intelligence and that policy decisions regarding crime and delinquency should specifically consider their impact on parents' ability to monitor, recognize, and punish the misbehavior of their children. The use of the concept of defensible space may be effective in low-crime areas threatened by outsiders but will have the least effect in places with the worst crime problems. It is recommended that police redirect their efforts from waiting and responding to calls for service toward analyzing, coordinating, and watching. The entire criminal justice system is deemed to operate on the basis of incentives that lead individuals to act in ways inconsistent with their goals and with the means that most agree are the best way of achieving those goals. Figures, tables, chapter reference notes, author biographies, and an index are included. For individual articles, see NCJ 91046-59. (Editor summary modified)