NCJ Number
123931
Date Published
1990
Length
335 pages
Annotation
This book analyzes the "get-tough" trend in attempting to control street crime as well as the associated trend in coercive control through surveillance.
Abstract
This book argues that the "get-tough" policy with street crime that has dominated American criminal justice over the last 20 years has produced no apparent reduction in such crime. Under the "get-tough" policy, many offenders are now punished more severely, and the rights of criminal defendants have been narrowed. The author views these policies as more than citizen demands for protection. They are promoted by powerful criminal justice lobbies and political leaders who use their symbolic value to maintain power. Due to the practical limitations on expanding police forces and prisons, surveillance has become an increasingly important policy instrument. Persons who have committed only minor offenses or none at all are tracked. Computerized records systems store information on millions of Americans, and citizens' privacy is invaded with electronic surveillance and random screening for drugs and alcohol. The focus on individual deviance and control have diverted society from designing and funding policies that promote socioeconomic welfare, according to the author. Policymakers must examine the causes of the growing underclass that fuels street crime and attempt to address them. 483-item bibliography, subject index, chapter notes.