NCJ Number
164506
Date Published
1997
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Crime and criminal justice policies are critically examined, with emphasis on the problems in the current public and political dialogue on the topic and in the resulting policy decisions.
Abstract
The comments are based on the author's observations of prisons in the United States, England, Australia, and Asian countries, and his career as a law professor at the University of Chicago. He concludes that both the media and the politicians select and sensationalize dramatic and grossly atypical crimes and criminals so that emotion dominates reason and social injury overcomes social protection. The current public and political dialogue reflects the extremes of the mindless punishers and those who suggest that only a program designed to eliminate social inequality can deal with crime. Being tough on crime is a condition to being elected. Developing systematic crime prevention and treatment classifications similar to those in medicine will take decades, but it is the only rational approach. Nevertheless, the police, courts, correctional personnel, and criminologists have greatly improved the quality of their work over the last 50 years. However, elected officials have politicized their interventions on crime control in ways widely known to be counterproductive. The media have abetted this process. In fact, nearly all categories of crime have been declining since 1990 and the only unique aspect of this country's crime problem is the violence and the extensive use of imprisonment. Addressing crime effectively will require sensible and enforceable laws about guns, drugs, and punishment. Questions, answers, and 8 reference notes