The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition provides an authoritative and comprehensive look at the latest developments in the 21st-century penal abolitionism movement, both reflecting on key critical thought and setting the agenda for local and global abolitionist ideas and interventions over the coming decade. Penal abolitionists question the legitimacy of criminal law, policing, courts, prisons and more broadly the idea of punishment, to argue that rather than effectively handling or solving social problems, interpersonal disputes, conflicts and harms, they actually increase individual and societal problems. The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition is organized around six key themes: Social movements and abolition organizing Critical resistance to the penal state Voices from imprisoned and marginalized communities Diversity of abolitionist thought International perspectives on abolitionism Building new justice practices as a response to social and individual wrongdoing. A global-centred and world-encompassing project, this book provides the reader with an alternative and critical perspective from which to reflect and raises the visibility of abolitionist ideas and strategies in a time when there is considerable discussion of how we will move forward in response to what has given rise to the criminalizing system: white supremacy, racial capitalism and human wrongdoing. It is essential reading for all those engaged with punishment and penology, criminology, sociology, corrections and critical prisons studies. It will appeal to any reader who seeks an innovative response to the calamitous failures of the modern criminalizing system.

Recent atrocities have ensured that terrorism and how to deal with terrorists legally and politically has been the subject of much discussion and debate on the international stage. This book presents a study of changes in the legal treatment of those perpetrating crimes of a political character over several decades. It most centrally deals with the political offence exception and how it has changed. The book looks at this change from an international perspective with a particular focus on the United States. Interdisciplinary in approach, it examines the fields of terrorism and political crime from legal, political science and criminological perspectives. It will be of interest to a broad range of academics and researchers, as well as to policymakers involved in creating new anti-terrorist policies.

In order for forensic fibre examiners to fully utilize fibre and textile evidence during their analysis, they require not only specialised forensic knowledge but also in-depth knowledge of fibres, yarns and fabrics themselves. Production, both the chemical and physical structure, and the properties of these materials is required in order to determine the value of fibre evidence. This includes knowing production figures, fashion changes, sudden arrivals of new materials, dye variability, and numerous other factors that may have a bearing on the information obtained. Fully updated with the latest advances, Forensic Examination of Fibres, Third Edition continues in the tradition of the First (1992) and Second Editions (1999) as the premier text on the subject of forensic fibre analysis. The international team of contributing authors detail the recovery of the evidence-through the different stages of laboratory examination-to the evaluation of the meaning of findings. The coverage has been considerably expanded, and all material, has been revised and wholly updated. Topics covered include examining damaged textiles, infrared microspectroscopy and thin layer chomatography, and colour analyses. This edition also highlights the critical role of quality assurance in ensuring the reliability of the technical observations and results, and, in doing so, looks at the implications of supervisory managers and labs in the accurate and responsible analysis of such evidence. Features include: Outlining evidentiary process from collecting and preserving the evidence at the crime scene through the laboratory analysis of fibres Detailing the latest developments and emerging technologies including Kevlar and other such advances in fibre technology Coverage of a broad array of fibres both, natural (cellulose, protein, and mineral) and man-made fibres including synthetic, inorganic and regenerated Forensic Examination of Fibres, Third Edition is a much-needed update to the classic book, serving as an indispensable reference to crime scene technicians, laboratory forensic scientists and microscopists, students in police, forensic, and justice science programs.

The use of informants has been described as the "black hole of law enforcement." Failures in the training of police officers and federal agents in the recruitment and operation of informants has undermined costly long-term investigations, destroyed the careers of prosecutors and law enforcement officers, and caused death and serious injuries to innocent citizens and police. In many cases, the events leading to disaster could have been avoided had the law enforcement agency followed the time-tested procedures examined in this book. Informants, Cooperating Witnesses, and Undercover Investigations: A Practical Guide to Law, Policy, and Procedure, Second Edition covers every aspect of the informant and cooperating witness dynamic-a technique often shrouded in secrecy and widely misunderstood. Quoted routinely in countless newspaper and magazine articles, the first edition of this book was the go-to guide for practical, effective guidance on this controversial yet powerful investigative tool. Extensively updated, topics in this second edition include: Sweeping changes in the FBI and ICE informant and undercover programs New informant recruiting techniques Reverse sting operations Entrapment issues Examination of recent high-profile cases where the misuse of informants resulted in lawsuits and legislation The changing nature of compensation and cooperation agreements Forfeiture, informants, and rewards The management of controlled undercover purchases of evidence Challenges posed by fabricated information, phantom informants and police corruption Witness security measures New whistleblower reward programs Authoritative, scholarly, and based on boots-on-the-ground experience, this book is written by an author who has been a police supervisor, an informant recruiter and handler, an undercover agent, and an attorney. Supported by statutes, case law, and previously unpublished excerpts from law enforcement agency manuals, it is essential reading for every police officer, police manager, prosecutor, police academy trainer, criminal justice professor, and defense attorney. This book is part of the Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations series.

"Evidence management has become a crucial component for the law enforcement community. I truly believe this book is essential in assisting criminal investigators and a valuable resource for managing evidence."-Jeremiah Sullivan, Chairman, Board of Directors, Texas Division of the International Association for Identification; Senior Crime Scene Specialist (Retired). Austin Police Department As technology and technical applications continue to advance in the forensic sciences, the undertakings at crime scenes have become even more critical. Crime scene investigators must ensure that evidence is properly collected, document, packaged, and stored in a manner that maximizes the ability of laboratories to derive meaning and results from the evidence provided them. Forensic Evidence Management: From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom provides best practices policies for forensic science entities and their employees to maintain chain of custody and evidence integrity throughout the course of evidence collection, storage, preservation, and processing. The focus of the book will be to address the issues related with evidence handling and analysis inside the forensic laboratory, in particular, and to offer best practices and guidelines from leading forensic experts in the field. Forms of evidence covered include biological, chemical, trace, firearm, toolmark, fingerprint, and a host of others types recovered at crime scenes. The book concludes with a chapter on ethics, bias, and ethical practices in evidence handling in the field and laboratory analysis. Test Bank and PowerPointTM slides are available for download from the Taylor & Francis ancillary Web site for qualifying course adopters.

How has rapid economic modernization in China and India impacted upon policing? To what extent are the two police forces trusted by its citizens? Do the police carry out their duties in a fair and unbiased fashion? What does police corruption look like and why does it persist? And what are the influencing factors in decision-making at the moments-of-truth? Filling the lacuna of research into the police in China and India, this book offers a unique comparative study of the prevalence, nature and organization of police corruption in these countries. This book provides key insights into the relationships between rapid economic modernisation, urbanisation and crime, and its effects on police organisational culture and behaviour as well as on ethical decision making. Moreover, this book performs an audit on which country is better placed to tackle corruption and professionalise their police service. It offers a major contribution to comparative research on criminal justice. It is essential reading for all policing scholars and will be of interest to students of criminology, social and political sciences, development studies, Asian studies, and post-colonial studies.

Consent is used in many different social and legal contexts with the pervasive understanding that it is, and has always been, about autonomy - but has it? Beginning with an overview of consent's role in law today, this book investigates the doctrine's inseparable association with personal autonomy and its effect in producing both idealised and demonised forms of personhood and agency. This prompts a search for alternative understandings of consent. Through an exploration of sexual offences in Antiquity, medical practice in the Middle Ages, and the regulation of bodily harm on the present-day sports field, this book demonstrates that, in contrast to its common sense story of autonomy, consent more often operates as an act of submission than as a form of personal freedom or agency. The book explores the implications of this counter-narrative for the law's contemporary uses of consent, arguing that the kind of freedom consent is meant to enact might be foreclosed by the very frame in which we think about autonomy itself. This book will be of interest to scholars of many aspects of law, history, and feminism as well as students of criminal law, bioethics, and political theory.

Originally published in 1991, The Case for the Prosecution examines the entire process of arrest through to conviction.

While the vast majority of criminal and civil lawyers must at some time come into contact with a forensic mental health evaluation, either when requested by their side or by opposing counsel, most do not know enough about the practice to be informed consumers. Forensic assessments can vary widely based on the assessor's personal preferences, and while there are clearly defined "best practices" for most evaluations, there is no official process by which legal professionals can guarantee these practices are being followed.
Designed to meet the specific needs of lawyers, Forensic Assessments in Criminal and Civil Law: A Handbook for Lawyers provides insight into what to expect from forensic mental health evaluations and how to navigate these assessments with skill and competence. The volume is divided into sections by evaluation type: criminal, civil, and juvenile and family evaluations. Each chapter addresses one of the most commonly requested forensic evaluations and is written by a forensic psychologist with both academic and professional experience with that type of evaluation. Specific evaluation types discussed include competence to stand trial in adults and juveniles, criminal responsibility, violence risk in adults, jury selection, eyewitness identification, personal injury claims, civil commitment, workplace disability, child custody, juveniles' risks and needs, and more. This handbook is a comprehensive, one-stop resource for lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals seeking to further their knowledge of forensic assessments.

Motherhood after Incarceration: Community Reintegration for Mothers in the Criminal Legal System explores the relationships of women with their children immediately after periods of incarceration. The analysis draws on in-depth interviews with 39 women who are mothers and who had recently been released in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. Using data collected from these interviews, the authors address three interrelated questions: (1) How does incarceration affect mother/child bonds? (2) What obstacles interfere with successful reintegration of these mothers into the community? (3) Do mothers who regain immediate custody of their children after incarceration reintegrate better than those with delayed (or no) resumption of child custody? Implications of these findings for policy are explored. The research results demonstrate the struggles justice-involved mothers experience over time as they seek to reintegrate into the community and resolve their relationships with their children, while also struggling with employment, housing, family relationships, and avoiding situations that might ultimately lead to recidivism. The authors suggest that policies for reducing recidivism among reentering women should provide more resources for housing, childcare, mental health, and job training and coaching. Further, there are often behavioral and emotional repercussions associated with the lengthy separation of mother and child, which highlights the need for parenting support for these mothers and their children, including social and emotional counseling, and resources directed toward the maintenance of family ties. This book's detailed look at motherhood after incarceration, both for mothers with custody and without, will appeal to academics, policy makers, community advocates and activists, and undergraduate and graduate students in social science courses on correctional policy, gender and crime, and social work.

Immigration and School Safety utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to expose the complex relationship between immigration and school safety in the United States. It addresses not only individual, intrapersonal, and environmental factors but also distant-level conditions that are relevant to the experiences of immigrant children and connected to school safety. Twenty-five percent of all youth in U.S. schools have at least one immigrant parent, and that percentage is expected to increase to 33 percent by 2040. A wide array of factors, including but not limited to laws, public and political discourses, educational policies, interpersonal relationships, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, citizenship, legal status, family characteristics, race and ethnicity, generational status, nationality, religion, and gender, contribute to the marginalizing experiences of children of immigrants at school. With the rapid growth of students in immigrant families in U.S. schools, any effort to address school violence and implement school safety policies must consider barriers associated with the unique educational experiences of that segment. This book highlights the often overlooked importance of immigration as a mediating factor in explaining both violence and victimization and provides a blueprint for integrating immigration and criminology theories into evidence-based efforts toward ensuring safety for all students. The authors demonstrate that immigration matters significantly in school violence and safety concerns and illustrate why research that integrates immigration with criminology theories is needed to understand the causes and correlates of school violence. The book will appeal to a wide array of individuals, including academics, educators, policymakers, practitioners, social workers, parents, and stakeholders who are committed to addressing educational disparities and inequities associated with immigration and school safety.

This book examines the phenomenon of 'grand corruption' in Kuwait and the pattern in the wider region. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the work places corruption in its sociological, political and economic context to explore the relationship between the characteristics of Kuwait as a state with an endemic corruption problem. It then focuses on laws and regulations as key problem-solving mechanisms. In doing so, it identifies, explores, and assesses the existing counter-corruption laws and regulations in Kuwait in a broad socio-political-economic context. The work goes beyond doctrinal legal research, employing empirical methodology based on semi-structured interviews with elite politicians and professional experts from criminal justice and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). These valuable and original insights are reflected upon throughout the study. The grand corruption that permeates the tier of high-profile officials in Kuwait is replicated in many developing countries where accountability mechanisms regularly suffer from lack of enforcement. The appeal of this book is its application to numerous jurisdictions, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Middle East in particular. It will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policymakers working in the areas of financial crime and corruption.

Private Security and the Investigative Process, Fourth Edition is fully updated and continues to provide complete coverage of the investigative process for private investigations by both individuals and in corporate security environments. This edition covers emerging technology, revised legal and practical considerations for conducting interviews, and new information on case evaluation. Written by a recognized expert in security, criminal justice, ethics, and the law-with over three decades of experience-the updated edition of this popular text covers concepts and techniques that can be applied to a variety of investigations including fraud, insurance, private, and criminal. It details the collection and preservation of evidence, the handling of witnesses, surveillance techniques, background investigations, and report writing. The book reflects best practices and includes tips for ensuring accurate and reliable private sector security investigations. This new edition includes: A new section on career opportunities in paths in the investigative field A rundown of the leading security Industry associations and professional standards being published Added discussion of observational interviews include current protocols analyzing data Details of the current legal implications for security surveillance and practices Advances in technology to thwart crime and fraud in retail and other business settings An entirely new section on e-records from criminal and civil judgments Authoritative, yet accessible, this book is one of the only textbooks dedicated to the subject. It also serves as an important reference for private investigators and security professionals. Complete with numerous forms, checklists, and web exercises, it provides the tools and understanding required to conduct investigations that are professional, ethical, and effective.

Reviewed and recognized as the most authoritative source in the field, this book describes the methods used worldwide to recover and identify footwear impressions from the scene of a crime. In this new edition, everything, including the original twelve chapters, bibliography, appendix, etc., has been clarified, updated and expanded. This edition includes updated and new information on recovery procedures and materials such as lifting, photography and casting; chemical enhancement; updated information about footwear manufacturing; footwear sizing; and known impression techniques and materials. WHAT'S NEW IN THE SECOND EDITION: Besides updating and expanding the twelve original chapters, Footwear Impression Evidence: Detection, Recovery and Examination, Second Edition adds three new chapters: one chapter on barefoot evidence, which concerns impressions made by the naked or sock-clad foot or those which remain in abandoned or discarded footwear; another new chapter on several cases in which the footwear impression evidence was of primary importance in bringing about a conviction or confession; and finally, a new chapter on the footwear impression evidence in the O.J. Simpson criminal and civil cases.

Drawing on extensive research from Australia, this book examines the experiences of sexual offence victims who submit a victim impact statement. Victim impact statements are used in sentencing to outline the harm caused to victims. There has been little research on the impact statement experiences of sexual offence victims. This book fills this gap, examining the perspectives of six adult female victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia. This is supplemented by analysis of 100 sentencing remarks, revealing how courts use such statements in practice. This book examines victims' experiences of preparing and submitting statements, justice professionals' experiences of working with victims to submit statements, and the judicial use of impact statements in sentencing. It identifies an overarching lack of clarity around the purpose of impact statements, which affects the information that can be included and the way they can be used by the court. It consequently explore issues associated with balancing the expressive and instrumental purposes of such statements, and the challenges in communication between professionals and victims of crime. The findings highlight several issues with the operation of impact statement regimes. Based on these findings, the book makes recommendations to clarify such regimes, to improve communication between justice professionals and victims of crime, and to enhance the therapeutic goals of such statements. An accessible and compelling read, this book is essential reading for all those engaged with victimology, sentencing, and sexual violence.

This book is the first Australian study, based on extensive fieldwork, of the personal backgrounds and processes by which juveniles get drawn into risky and violent situations that culminate in murder. Drawing on interviews with every juvenile under sanction of life imprisonment in the State of South Australia (2015-2019), it investigates links in the chain of events that led to the lethal violence that probably would have been broken had there been appropriate intervention. Specifically, the book asks whether the existing criminal justice frame is the appropriate way to deal with children who commit grave acts. The extent to which prison facilitates and/or inhibits the mental, emotional, and social development of juvenile 'lifers' is a critical issue. Most - if not all - will be released at some point, with key issues of risk (public protection) and rehabilitation (probability of desistance) coming sharply to the fore. In addition, this book is also the first to capture how significant others including mothers, fathers, grandparents, and siblings are affected when children kill and the level of commitment these relatives have towards supporting the prisoner in his or her quest to build a positive future. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, andpenology; practitioners working in social policy; and all those interested in the lives and backgrounds of juvenile offenders.

Native Americans are disproportionately represented as offenders in the U.S. criminal justice system. Routledge Handbook on Native American Justice Issues is an authoritative volume that provides an overview of the state of American Indigenous populations and their contact with justice concerns and the criminal justice system. The volume covers the history and origins of Indian Country in America; continuing controversies regarding treaties; unique issues surrounding tribal law enforcement; the operation of tribal courts and corrections, including the influence of Indigenous restorative justice practices; the impact of native religions and customs; youth justice issues, including educational practices and gaps; women's justice issues; and special circumstances surrounding healthcare for Indians, including the role substance abuse plays in contributing to criminal justice problems. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars - many of them Native Americans - that explore key issues fundamental to understanding the relationships between Native peoples and contemporary criminal justice, editor Laurence Armand French draws on more than 40 years of experience with Native American individuals and groups to provide contextual material that incorporates criminology, sociology, anthropology, cultural psychology, and history to give readers a true picture of the wrongs perpetrated against Native Americans and their effects on the current operation of Native American justice. This compilation analyzes the nature of justice for Native Americans, including unique and emerging problems, theoretical issues, and policy implications. It is a valuable resource for all scholars with an interest in Native American culture and in the analysis and rectification of the criminal justice system's disparate impact on people of color.

A Disturbing and Shocking Expose-A Passionate Cry for Reform

Prison Madness exposes the brutality and failure of today's correctional system-for all prisoners-but especially the incredible conditions Andured by those suffering from serious mental disorders.

"A passionately argued and brilliantly written wake-up call to America about the myriad ways our penal systems brutalize our entire culture. Dr. Kupers not only diagnoses the problem, he also offers a set of solutions. I hope this book will be read by all concerned citizens and voters, for it conveys truths that are vitally important to all of us."-James Gilligan, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and author of Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic

This book assesses the role of social justice in legal scholarship and its potential future development by focusing upon the 'leading works' of the discipline. The rise of socio-legal studies over recent decades has led to a more interdisciplinary approach to the study of law, which prioritises placing law into its wider social context. Recognising the role that culture, economics and politics play in the development of law is important in order to fully understand the position and impact of law in society. Innovative and written in an engaging way, this collection includes leading and emerging scholars from across the world. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a 'leading work', a publication which has for them shed light on the way that law and social justice are interlinked and has influenced their own understanding, scholarship, advocacy, and, in some instances, activism. The book also includes a specially written foreword and afterword, which critically reflect upon the contributions of the 'leading works' to consider the role that social justice has played in law and legal education and the likely future path for social justice in legal scholarship. This book will be an essential resource for all those working in the areas of social justice, socio-legal studies and legal philosophy. It will be of wider interest to the social sciences more generally.

Behavioural skills are essential to effective policing practice and professional development, and are also embedded within the policing competency frameworks. As the police service looks to further redefine its role in the twenty-first century, this critical handbook covers the full range of these proficiencies, from building rapport, applying emotional intelligence, building empathy and resilience to diversity and difference, understanding ethics, and developing coaching and leadership skills. Each chapter is written by a distinguished serving or former senior police leader and/or policing scholar, bringing together a wealth of experience and understanding and applying this knowledge in context through key case studies and examples. Suitable for serving police officers at all levels, as well as policing lecturers and students aspiring to join the police, this book encourages and enables a people-centred approach to policing that balances the debate that has given disproportionate credence to transactional skills at the expense of a more transformational approach.

Child identity theft is the fastest growing type of identity theft, a crime that affects some 10 million people annually. Each year more than 500,000 children are affected by identity theft - half of them under age six. Countless other cases go unreported because the thief is a relative or parent of the victim. This devastating crime can wreak havoc on a child's future opportunities; it can be difficult to prove, and even harder to undo the damage that has been done. Child Identity Theft speaks to parents everywhere, the majority of whom have no idea that their children's identities have become such prime targets for thieves and criminals. Here, a veteran law enforcement professional and expert in child identity theft offers parents, educators, law enforcement officials, and others who care for or work with children an inside look at the ways in which children are vulnerable to identity thieves. Chappell presents the vital information in a question and answer format, offering not just information about how child identity theft happens, but also how to prevent it from happening, and what to do if it does. Among other things, Child Identity Theft explains: *how a loophole in the national credit reporting system allows criminals to target innocent children for their creditworthiness; *the variety of forms that child identity theft can take; *the hidden techniques that thieves use to gain children's identities and personal information; *which children are at a higher risk for identity theft; and *how an increasing number of child identity thefts are perpetrated by parents and relatives. This book reveals the reality of child identity theft and the steps we all should take to protect our children and ourselves. How many victimized children are out there out there waiting to be discovered? Has your child been victimized? One hopes not, but if so, this book will give you the tools to find out and get help.

Based on a reading of contemporary philosophical arguments, this book accounts for how punishment has provided audiences with pleasure in different historical contexts. Watching tragedies, contemplating hell, attending executions, or imagining prisons have generated pleasure, according to contemporary observers, in ancient Greece, in medieval Catholic Europe, in the early-modern absolutist states, and in the post-1968 Western world. The pleasure was often judged morally problematic, and raised questions about which desires were satisfied, and what the enjoyment was like. This book offers a research synthesis that ties together existing work on the pleasure of punishment. It considers how the shared joys of punishment gradually disappeared from the public view at a precise historic conjuncture, and explores whether arguments about the carnivalesque character of cruelty can provide support for the continued existence of penal pleasure. Towards the end of this book, the reader will discover, if willing to go along and follow desire to places which are full of pain and suffering, that deeply entwined with the desire for punishment, there is also the desire for social justice. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, philosophy and all those interested in the pleasures of punishment.

This book discusses private policing conducted by fraud examiners and financial crime specialists when there is suspicion of white-collar crime. The theory of convenience applies to the suspected crime, while the maturity model applies to the conducted investigation. Private policing of economic crime by fraud examiners in internal investigations is a topic of increasing concern as there is a growing business for law firms and auditing firms to conduct inquiries and reviews when there is suspicion of misconduct, wrongdoing, and crime by white-collar offenders. The key features of this book are the application of a structural model for convenience theory and the application of a maturity model for fraud examinations. The structural model assesses convenience themes for motive, opportunity, and willingness in each case study, while the maturity model assesses the level of private policing maturity in fraud examinations. For the first time, two emerging frameworks to study white-collar offenses and private policing maturity are introduced and applied to a number of cases from Denmark, Iceland, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. This book will be essential to those studying law, business, and criminology, as well as practicing fraud examiners.

Good police officers are often promoted to supervisory positions with little or none of the training it takes to be a good manager. An understanding of group behaviors and organizational dynamics is necessary to grasp the fundamentals of managing police officers. The Effective Police Supervision Study Guide coordinates with the core text used in many college-level classes and police departments to teach supervisory practices in criminal justice. This study guide prepares both students and professionals for academic or promotional exams, offering them an opportunity to fully review the material so that they are well-prepared for testing. This new edition, like the new edition of the textbook it accompanies, includes information on the following topics: police accountability, police involvement with news media, the challenges of dealing with social media, updates on legal considerations, and ways to respond to current issues facing law enforcement with COVID-19 and managing protests.

The California youth corrections system is undergoing the most sweeping transformation in its 154-year history. The extraordinary nature of this change is revealed by the striking decline in the state's youth incarceration rate. In 1996, with 10,000 youth confined in 11 state-run correctional facilities, California boasted the nation's third highest youth incarceration rate. Now, with only 800 youth remaining in a system comprised of just three institutions, California has one of the nation's lowest youth incarceration rate. How did such unprecedented changes occur and what were the crucial conditions that produced them? Daniel E. Macallair answers these questions through an examination of the California youth corrections system's origins and evolution, and the patterns and practices that ultimately led to its demise. Beginning in the 19th century, California followed national juvenile justice trends by consigning abused, neglected, and delinquent youth to congregate care institutions known as reform schools. These institutions were characterized by their emphasis on regimentation, rigid structure, and harsh discipline. Behind the walls of these institutions, children and youth, who ranged in age from eight to 21, were subjected to unspeakable cruelties. Despite frequent public outcry, life in California reform schools changed little from the opening of the San Francisco Industrial School in 1859 to the dissolution of the California Youth Authority (CYA) in 2005. By embracing popular national trends at various times, California encapsulates much of the history of youth corrections in the United States. The California story is exceptional since the state often assumed a leadership role in adopting innovative policies intended to improve institutional treatment. The California juvenile justice system stands at the threshold of a new era as it transitions from a 19th century state-centered institutional model to a decentralized structure built around localized services delivered at the county level. After the Doors Were Locked is the first to chronicle the unique history of youth corrections and institutional care in California and analyze the origins of today's reform efforts. This book offers valuable information and guidance to current and future generations of policy makers, administrators, judges, advocates, students and scholars.