Sense and Nonsense About Crime and Drugs: A Policy Guide; Third Edition

• NCJ Number: 150519
• Author(s): S Walker
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 320 pages
• Sale Source: Wadsworth Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice Series

Annotation

Based on a review of current studies about the effectiveness of certain crime-reducing policies, this book critiques conservative, moderate, and liberal strategies for reducing serious crime in the United States.

Abstract

This third edition contains a new section on the impact of drugs on crime; it addresses drug policy, the war on drugs, and the legalization of drugs. There is a new evaluation of boot camps, electronic monitoring, and intensive probation, along with new discussions of the impact of the war on crime and race relations. Other additions in this third edition are a critical commentary on crime-control proposals offered by President Clinton; coverage of the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, State and Federal law, latest research findings, and changes in public attitudes about crime. There is also a new final chapter on crime and public policy. The author concludes that crime-control policies offered by both conservatives and liberals have failed to make a significant impact on serious crime. People of all political persuasions prefer comforting, simplistic illusions and unexamined assumptions about the effectiveness of various crime-control measures rather than a facing of unpleasant facts about the real roots of crime and the impotence of the criminal justice system in addressing crime. Where positive trends in crime reduction have occurred, the criminal justice system and legislation have had little if any influence. Crime has declined primarily because of demographic changes, primarily the aging of the American population. Positive changes are possible and they can be encouraged through education and social services. There is no evidence, however, that the coercive threat of criminal punishment will achieve the desired change. The author encourages policymakers to focus on socioeconomic trends in American society, such as the decline in manufacturing jobs that have traditionally offered the poor entry into jobs with decent wages and the rise in highly technical jobs for which the poor are not qualified. Chapter notes and a subject index