Bøger af Todd R Clear

In the first detailed, empirical exploration of the effects of mass incarceration on poor places, Imprisoning Communities demonstrates that in high doses incarceration contributes to the very social problems it is intended to solve: it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and parents of emotional and financial support; and threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods. Especially at risk are children who, research shows, are more likely to commit a crime if a father or brother has been to prison. Clear makes the counterintuitive point that when incarceration concentrates at high levels, crime rates will go up. Removal, in other words, has exactly the opposite of its intended effect: it destabilizes the community, thus further reducing public safety.

This book addresses three main questions: What is the practical case for greater community involvement in criminal justice? What is the philosophical basis for community-oriented criminal justice? What might a community-oriented justice practice look like?

Activists, scholars, criminal-justice officials, and politicians have begun to call for a re-examination of "get-tough" crime policies. A more sensible approach to crime, they argue, would focus on "community justice" - that is, on building healthy communities in which criminality cannot take root.