Offering perspectives from a range of experts, both academic and nonacademic, this reference book examines the development of prisons in the United States and addresses the principal contemporary issues and controversies of our prisons and prison systems. Prisons were initially created as a means of reforming offenders, but over time, the objective of rehabilitation gave way to a strategy of mass imprisonment-a system that has resulted in correctional facilities dealing with serious problems such as overcrowding, prison gangs, pervasive violence, and a significant incidence of mental illness among inmates. Prisons in the United States: A Reference Handbook examines the history of corrections in America, detailing how well-intentioned policies intended to "get tough on crime" sanctioned the dismantling of parole systems and resulted in laws that imposed mandatory minimum sentences. These changes contributed to the United States now having the biggest incarcerated population worldwide and the highest rate of incarceration. The book offers an accessible history of the development of the prison system in the United States and analyzes the various problems and controversies associated with prisons in the present day. The coverage includes key related issues, including those of race and gender, and enables readers to understand how past developments continue to affect public and official perceptions of the prison experience-for example, how the practice of keeping inmates in solitary confinement for lengthy periods has been reinvented and represents a return to a historically discredited practice. Accounts of former inmates and of correctional officers are integrated into the text, adding context and offering rarely heard perspectives on difficult issues affecting prisons. Presents a comprehensive yet succinct history of the development of men's and women's prisons in the United States Offers a range of author perspectives that identify and explore the principal issues associated with prisons and imprisonment Documents the shift from an intent to reform inmates in prisons to retribution and an attempt to remove all criminals from society, using prisons for "warehousing" of undesired elements Provides a complete reference guide for the understanding of prisons and imprisonment as a punishment

Male rape is a feminist issue - but perhaps not in the way that you might think. This work is an experiment in Foucauldian thought that attempts to satisfy Foucault's imperative to 'think differently'. From this positioning, feminist constructions of 'male rape' can plausibly be claimed to operate as a 'regime of truth', but one must necessarily question whether this is running counter to patriarchy.
This book seeks to problematize knowledge and practices regarding 'male rape', examining the social realms of the Academy, popular culture, policy and provision in the constitution of the subject. Discussion is moved beyond notions of fairness or justice. Instead, Cohen seeks to ascertain the discursive regularities in these sites, considers the power-effects of such discourse and thus conceives of 'male rape' as illustrating the success of governmentality.

Scholars in various disciplines are recommending comprehensive measures to solve multiple societal as well as individual problems. The philosophy of community education has been overlooked but is a workable, comprehensive approach to addressing crime. As used in this book, community education is a philosophy, process, and program comprised of three overriding and interrelated elements: community empowerment, community problem-solving, and the effort to involve all community members in the pursuit of lifelong learning.

The Hyde Park neighborhood in St. Louis has one of the highest rates of reported drug sales and high rates of homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, and burglary. The community lays claim to several crime-inducing variables including population loss, a high percentage of population shift resulting in a higher percentage of black population and boarded-up housing units, a high rate of unemployment, a very low per capita income and a high percentage of citizens living below the poverty line, and a high percentage of female-headed households. Nevertheless, the people of Hyde Park are participating in a crime prevention approach that is applicable to all communities. Insights to urban life and problem solving are provided by community members, covering such topics as policing and how it can be improved. These insights and others offered by the author are supported by theories and philosophies found in the literature. In the process of solving their own problems, community members involve themselves in lifelong learning activities and leadership development. Written in a style that is appealing to the general public as well as academics, it is of special interest to educators, community leaders, criminologists, academics in urban affairs and sociology, social workers, law enforcement agents, and politicians.

Is cost-benefit analysis the best means to determine and formulate public policies? To answer this question Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick examines its application to crime and criminal justice and the implications of that application. In this interdisciplinary study, Sedgwick first assesses the value of applying economic models to the social problem of crime. He compares economic models to sociological ones and then addresses the question of whether economic models are compatible with the values of a liberal political order. He shows that cost-benefit analysis suffers from technical and ethical problems when used to set law enforcement goals. Current techniques for measuring the costs of crime are crude and unreliable, he argues, and overreliance on citizen and consumer preference may lead to the adoption of policies incompatible with American political traditions and respect for human rights. Sedgwick concludes that economic analysis cannot, by itself, lead to the adoption of effective and publicly defensible policies to combat crime.

"Clean Streets will take its place alongside other outstanding community ethnographies in the tradition of the Chicago School. An engaging and insightful book that will be widely cited and discussed."
--William Julius Wilson, author of "When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor"

"In an era of declining civic involvement, persistent fear of crime, and cynicism about the efficacy of grassroots community action, Clean Streets offers a story of hope. Using his eye for detail, Carr examines how community residents respond to gang violence, graffiti and other forms of physical disorder, unresponsive judges, and problems at the corner tavern. Clean Streets offers an intriguing organizational framework for community members and public officials in their fight against crime, violence, and disorder."
--John H. Laub, co-author of "Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: Delinquent Boys to Age 70"

"Patrick Carr shows us that policing can have a stimulating effect; that communities can mobilize and restore their moral force with tolerance to others and with moderation. This ethnographic study should be read. It should give us hope."
--Peter K. Manning, author of "Police Work: The Social Organization of Policing"

aIn sum, the core theoretical achievement of "Clean Streets," the development of new concepts and ideas regarding successful social control at the local level, merits close attention from sociologists of various persuasions and with varied interests.a
-- Margarethe Kusenbach, University of South Florida.

With the close proximity of gangs and the easy access to drugs, keeping urban neighborhoods safe from crime has long been a central concern for residents. InClean Streets, Patrick Carr draws on five years of research in a white, working-class community on Chicago's South side to see how they tried to keep their streets safe. Carr details the singular event for this community and the resulting rise of community activism: the shootings of two local teenage girls outside of an elementary school by area gang members. As in many communities struck by similar violence, the shootings led to profound changes in the community's relationship to crime prevention. Notably, their civic activism has proved successful and, years after the shooting, community involvement remains strong.

Carr mines this story of an awakened neighborhood for unique insights, contributing a new perspective to the national debate on community policing, civic activism, and the nature of social control. Clean Streets offers an important story of one community's struggle to confront crime and to keep their homes safe. Their actions can be seen as a model for how other communities can face up to similarly difficult problems.

This book explores the potential of domestic abuse data to assess the level of harm caused to victims and the amount of resources required to respond to it. Policing domestic abuse has become a major activity for the police service in England and Wales. Part of the police strategy is to gather hundreds of thousands of detailed records about victims and suspects - the single largest set of domestic abuse records available, but one that to date has largely unexplored by researchers. In this volume, Matthew Bland and Barak Ariel analyse three substantial datasets taken from police forces across the country and ask: * Can police data be used to derive meaningful insight? * How should we use these data to measure harm? * Just how much domestic abuse involves a repeat victim? * Does abuse get more serious over time? * Can serious domestic abuse be predicted before it occurs? This volume illustrates the scale of the challenge the police and other agencies face with reducing domestic abuse. A small proportion of individuals generate a majority of harm; this book argues that police records offer opportunities to identify these individuals before the harm occurs. Demonstrating that statistical techniques can be used to profile domestic abuse to target harm reduction strategies more precisely and even identify a sizable proportion of serious cases before they occur, this volume will be of interest to law enforcement officials, policing researchers, and policy makers interested in reducing the phenomenon of domestic abuse.

Two issues have been central within political philosophy in the last decade or so. The first is the debate over 'the politics of distribution versus the politics of recognition, ' which is usually associated with the work of Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser. The second is discussion of the phenomenon known as globalization, focusing on the notions of cosmopolitanism and global justice. This book explores the relationship between these two issues. It considers not only the global dimension of the politics of recognition, but also how recognition theory can provide new insights into our understanding of problems of global justice, especially those of a non-distributive nature. A number of the contributors consider the relevance of Hegel's theory of recognition for our understanding of these issues.

In the past 10 years, the Member States of the European Union (EU) have intensified their exchange of information for the purposes of preventing and combating serious cross-border crime, as manifested in three main aspects. Firstly, there is a need to ensure the practical application of innovative principles (availability, mutual recognition) and concepts (Information Management Strategy, European Information Exchange Model) for tackling criminal organisations and networks that threaten the Internal Security of the EU. Secondly, there has been a gradual consolidation of EU agencies and bodies (Eurojust, Europol) aimed at promoting cooperation and dialogue among law enforcement officials and judicial authorities responsible for preventing and combating drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, child pornography, and other serious trans-national offences. Thirdly, important EU information systems and databases (Prum, SIS-II, ECRIS) have been created, enabling law enforcement and judicial authorities to gain access to essential information on criminal phenomena and organisations. Pursuing a practice-orientated approach, this work provides comprehensive coverage of all these measures, as well as the applicable rules governing data quality, data protection and data security. It is especially intended for law enforcement and judicial authorities who need to develop the appropriate expertise for the practical application of the above-mentioned principles. It also offers a solid basis of practical training material for police training centres and judicial schools.

Most approaches to crime analysis focus on geographical crime mapping, which is helpful in identifying crime clusters and allocating police resources, but does not explain why a particular crime took place. "Applied Crime Analysis "presents a model that brings statistical anchoring, behavioral psychopathology, and victimology from the social sciences together with physical and crime scene evidence to provide a complete picture of crime. This hands-on guide takes theoretical principles and demonstrates how they can be put into practice using real case examples. In addition to covering key topics such as staged crime scenes, false reports, and criminal motivations, the book s includes a final chapter on report writing, showing readers how to use their findings to successfully advance to prosecution and succeed in court.
Presents a model that takes social science concepts, including statistical anchoring, behavioral psychopathology, and victimologyandconnects them with crime sceneevidence to examine andanalyze crimePuts crime analysis theory into practice withreal-world exampleshighlighting important concepts and best practiceIncludes a report writing chapter to demonstrate how this approach can strengthen criminal cases and succeed in court"

Drawing on the most recent studies, this collection of articles assesses and evaluates current criminal justice responses, policies, and practices regarding sexual violence in the United States and Canada. Focusing on methodological and ideological issues, rape law reform, criminal justice responses, social contexts of sexual assault, and community responses, authors from the fields of sociology, criminal justice, law, counseling, anthropology, biology, and psychology provide detailed studies of the problems and challenges involved in this very sensitive and important issue. The broad perspective provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the current state of criminal justice responses to sexual assault as well as the changes and progress being made in the area. By providing such extensive coverage, the volume also offers readers a guide to the very nature and extent of sexual violence and its consequences.

As we enter the 21st century, numerous changes have occurred within the criminal justice system and society's understanding of rape as a crime of violence. Significant reforms have emerged in both the United States and Canada in terms of how various institutions respond to the crime of rape and the needs of rape survivors. This progress demands an evaluation of the current state of pressing issues regarding the many facets of sexual assault. Kelley and Hodgson offer original contributions from both American and Canadian scholars and practitioners from several social science disciplines in an effort to provide a critical assessment of a timely and important issue.

This book, the first of two volumes edited by McCartan and Kemshall, focusses on perceptions of sexual offenders, and how risk is used by policy makers, stakeholders, academics and practitioners to both construct and respond to unknown and known sex offenders within the contexts of criminal justice, health and social policy. The chapters provide an oversight of contemporary policies, practices and debates within the area to help both professionals and researchers. The collection focuses on emerging areas (public health approaches, prevention, public perceptions of sexual abuse, and social constructionism), as well as more traditional topics (media, preventative and exceptional sentencing, resilience, and work force development). The authors examine public and professional engagement on sex offender management, and the changing socio-political landscape of sexual offender management. A bold and engaging volume, this edited collection will be of great importance to scholars and practitioners interested in perceptions of sexual offending.

The Latin American narcotics trade is an important national security issue for the United States because it is destabilizing important Latin American allies and creating serious social problems within the United States. Frustration with the inability to block the flow of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin from Latin America prompted passage of major national anti-drug laws in 1986 and 1988. Throughout the decade, United States narcotics policy has created serious friction between the United States and Latin America yet, according to Mabry, it essentially has failed in its goals. Nine experts on this subject deal with the major issues of United States narcotics policy and offer recommendations for future action. The history of the United States narcotics policy, the nature of the trade, the debate over the use of the United States military in interdiction efforts, the role of Congress in making policy, and the origin and implementation of narcotics policy, be it directed against a specific nation or against the entire region, are presented. In addition, the book also contains a List of Tables covering: Consumption of Drugs, and Columbian Trafficker's Investment Preferences. An extensive bibliography is included designed to give other scholars and those interested in this issue an excellent start for further research.

Vandalism and Anti-Social Behaviour forwards a new typology of vandalism. The authors argue that in order to fully understand vandalism and anti-social behaviour, a culturally criminological perspective should be fostered, which accounts for the emotional and experiential aspects of crime.

This book critically explores the development of radical criminological thought through the social, political and cultural history of three periods in Ancient Greece: the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Greco-Roman periods. It follows on from the previous volume which examined concepts of law, legitimacy, crime, justice and deviance through a range of Ancient Greek works including epic and lyrical poetry, drama and philosophy, across different chapters. This book examines the three centuries that followed which were very important for the history of radical thinking about crime and law. It explores the socio-political struggles and how ruptures produced breaks in knowledge production and developed the field of deviance and social control. It also examines the key literature, religions and philosophers of each period. The gap between social consensus and social conflict deepened during this time and influenced the theoretical discourse on crime. These elements continue to exist in the theoretical quests of the modern age of criminology. This book examines the links between the origins of radical criminology and its future. It speaks to those interested in the (pre)history of criminology and the historical production of criminological knowledge.

This book assesses President Barack Obama's counterterrorism policy as it evolved throughout his presidency, from the expanded use of drones to the controversial decisions regarding the Syrian conflict. President Obama has achieved the dubious distinction of having been the longest continuous war president in American history, and this title explores how Obama pursued and expanded executive war power in key areas, simultaneously committing to a light footprint approach for U.S. military forces and emphasizing the use of drones, targeted killing of terrorists, and training, advising, and assisting local forces to defend themselves from militant groups such as ISIL. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the defining issue of the Obama counterterrorism strategy: Syria, and his refusal to militarily commit to defeat Bashar al-Assad and support Syria's insurgency. The work concludes with a consideration of counterterrorism policy post-Obama.

As immigration, technological change, and globalization reshape the world, journalism plays a central role in shaping how the public adjusts to moral and material upheaval. This, in turn, raises the ethical stakes for journalism. In short, reporters have a choice in the way they tell these stories: They can spread panic and discontent or encourage adaptation and reconciliation. In Murder in Our Midst, Romayne Smith Fullerton and Maggie Jones Patterson compare journalists' crime coverage decisions in North America and select Western European countries as a key to examine culturally constructed concepts like privacy, public, public right to know, and justice. Drawing from sample news coverage, national and international codes of ethics and style guides, and close to 200 personal interviews with news professionals and academics, they highlight differences in crime news reporting practices and emphasize how crime stories both reflect and shape each nation's attitudes in unique ways. Murder in Our Midst is both an empirical look at varying journalistic styles and an ethical evaluation of whether particular story-telling approaches do or do not serve the practice of democracy.

This book focuses on the transmission of ethnic identity across three generations of Italian-Australians, specifically Italian-Australians of Calabrian descent in the Adelaide region of Australia. Simone Marino analyzes ethnographic data collected over a three-year period to consider individual, familial and community cultural practices, as well as societal influences on ethnic identity transmission, in order to present generational differences in the understandings of Italian-Australian identity. Among other factors, the role of community events, community networks, and cultural practices associated with being Italian-Australian are examined. The transmission of ethnic identity is analysed through the lens of sociological theories, including Sayad's concept of double absence and Bourdieu's ideas of habitus and cultural capital, and is considered at the macro, meso, and micro spheres of social life. Ultimately, Marino's study reveals clear generational differences amongst Italian-Australians: the first generation, those who arrived from Italy, manifest a condition of feeling absent, the second generation present a condition of 'in-between-ness', between the world of their immigrant parents and that of Australians, and the third generation experience a sense of ethnic revival.

This is the first comprehensive and up-to-date study of how inmates and their wives cope with incarceration and to what extent conjugal visit programs help their marriages. The findings of a family support program in upper New York State compares different groups and has implications for social welfare and corrections professionals. The authors review the historical background of family support programs for prison inmates, the related literature, and raise questions about the kinds of policies, programs, and services that affect inmates and their families. They point to the effects of clinical intervention on different ethnic groups and make recommendations for the future to help the couples better cope.

This book brings together a collection of essays by leading criminologists to explore the relationship between the private sector and criminal justice. The private sector has become an increasingly important 'partner' in contemporary criminal justice with the unprecedented growth of public sector 'outsourcing' arrangements. This has resulted in an increasingly pluralised and marketised landscape of contemporary criminal justice. This edited collection examines these developments in different jurisdictions as well as in a wide range of criminal justice contexts and sectors including: the private security sector, policing, prisons, probation and community sanctions, and electronic monitoring. In so doing, it addresses fundamental normative, ideological and ethical debates about the role of the private sector within this new and evolving landscape, as well as descriptive and analytical questions about how criminal justice structures, agencies and processes function and with what effect. The Private Sector and Criminal Justice is essential reading for scholars and students of criminology, penology, policing, security, criminal justice and organisational and management studies. It is also an invaluable resource for criminal justice practitioners.

This book examines the use of "Communities That Care" (CTC) interventions in European countries. It reports results obtained by using the CTC Youth Survey in five European countries covering different parts of Europe - Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, and Cyprus. The main aim of the book is to compare (a) the prevalence of delinquency and substance use, (b) the prevalence of key risk and protective factors, and (c) the strength of relationships between risk and protective factors and delinquency and substance use, in these five European countries. The chapters in this book compare similarities and differences between the countries, possible explanations of these, and the implications of the results for theories and for intervention policy and practice. Additionally, it provides evidence about the replicability over time and place of the strength of relationships between (i) risk and protective factors and (ii) delinquency and substance use. In turn, this increases confidence in the generalizability of criminological theories over time and place. It will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in criminology and criminal justice, particularly those with an interest in developmental and life-course criminology, juvenile delinquency, and substance use, as well as crime prevention and intervention.

Green Criminology has the potential to provide not only a different way of examining and making sense of various forms of crime and control responses, but can also make explicable much wider connections which are not generally well understood. As all societies face up to the need to confront harms against the environment, other animals and humanity, criminology will have a major role to play. This book will be an essential part of this process. This edited collection brings together internationally renowned scholars to explore green criminology through the interdisciplinary lenses of power, justice and harm. The chapters provide innovative case study analyses from North America, Europe and Australia that seek to advance theoretical, policy and practice discourses about environmental harm. The book unifies transnational debates in environmental law, policy and justice, and in doing so examines international agreements and policy within diverse environmental discourses of sociology, criminology and political economy. Emerging Issues in Green Criminology is an essential source for students, scholars and policy makers in this rapidly growing area of criminology, as well as environmental studies more broadly. The international range of contributors include Lieselot Bisschop (University College Ghent, Belgium), Avi Brisman (Eastern Kentucky University, USA), Matthew Hall (University of Sheffield, UK), M.H.A Kluin (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands), Olga Knight (University of Colorado, Denver, USA), Peter Martin (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Hanneke Mol (University of Kent, UK and Utrecht University, Netherlands), Angus Nurse (Birmingham City University, UK), Ragnhild Sollund (University of Oslo, Norway), Nigel South (University of Essex, UK), Paul B. Stretesky (University of Colorado, Denver, USA), Gudrun Vande Walle (University College Ghent, Belgium) and Rob White (University of Tasmania, Australia).