The working class in New York City was remade in the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1820s a substantial majority of city artisans were native-born; by the 1850s three-quarters of the city's laboring men and women were immigrants. How did the influx of this large group of young adults affect the city's working class? What determined the texture of working-class life during the antebellum period? Richard Stott addresses these questions as he explores the social and economic dimensions of working-class culture. Working-class culture, Stott maintains, is grounded in the material environment, and when work, population, consumption, and the uses of urban space change as rapidly as they did in the mid-nineteenth century, culture will be transformed. Using workers' first-person accounts-letters, diaries, and reminiscences-as evidence, and focusing on such diverse topics as neighborhoods, diet, saloons, and dialect, he traces the rise of a new, youth-oriented working-class culture. By illuminating the everyday experiences of city workers, he shows that the culture emerging in the 1850s was a culture clearly different from that of native-born artisans of an earlier period and from that of the middle class as well.

This book articulates how crime prevention research and practice can be reimagined for an increasingly digital world. This ground-breaking work explores how criminology can apply longstanding, traditional crime prevention techniques to the digital realm. It provides an overview of the key principles, concepts and research literature associated with crime prevention, and discusses the interventions most commonly applied to crime problems. The authors review the theoretical underpinnings of these and analyses evidence for their efficacy. Cybercrime Prevention is split into three sections which examine primary prevention, secondary prevention and tertiary prevention. It provides a thorough discussion of what works and what does not, and offers a formulaic account of how traditional crime prevention interventions can be reimagined to apply to the digital realm.

This unique analysis of the rise of the juvenile justice system from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries uses one of the harshest states - California - as a case study for examining racism in the treatment of incarcerated young people of color. Using rich new untapped archives, "States of Delinquency" is the first book to explore the experiences of young Mexican Americans, African Americans, and ethnic Euro-Americans in California correctional facilities including Whittier State School for Boys and the Preston School of Industry. Miroslava Chavez-Garcia examines the ideologies and practices used by state institutions as they began to replace families and communities in punishing youth, and explores the application of science and pseudo-scientific research in the disproportionate classification of youths of color as degenerate. She also shows how these boys and girls, and their families, resisted increasingly harsh treatment and various kinds of abuse, including sterilization.

"Stigma, shame and hardship---this is the lot shared by families whose young men have been swept into prison. Braman reveals the devastating toll mass incarceration takes on the parents, partners, and children left behind."
-Katherine S. Newman
""Doing Time on the Outside" brings to life in a compelling way the human drama, and tragedy, of our incarceration policies. Donald Braman documents the profound economic and social consequences of the American policy of massive imprisonment of young African American males. He shows us the link between the broad-scale policy changes of recent decades and the isolation and stigma that these bring to family members who have a loved one in prison. If we want to understand fully the impact of current criminal justice policies, this book should be required reading."
-Mark Mauer, Assistant Director, The Sentencing Project
"Through compelling stories and thoughtful analysis, this book describes how our nation's punishment policies have caused incalculable damage to the fabric of family and community life. Anyone concerned about the future of urban America should read this book."
-Jeremy Travis, The Urban Institute

In the tradition of Elijah Anderson's "Code of the Street" and Katherine Newman's "No Shame in My Game," this startling new ethnography by Donald Braman uncovers the other side of the incarceration saga: the little-told story of the effects of imprisonment on the prisoners' families.
Since 1970 the incarceration rate in the United States has more than tripled, and in many cities-urban centers such as Washington, D.C.-it has increased over five-fold. Today, one out of every ten adult black men in the District is inprison and three out of every four can expect to spend some time behind bars. But the numbers don't reveal what it's like for the children, wives, and parents of prisoners, or the subtle and not-so-subtle effects mass incarceration is having on life in the inner city.
Author Donald Braman shows that those doing time on the inside are having a ripple effect on the outside-reaching deep into the family and community life of urban America. Braman gives us the personal stories of what happens to the families and communities that prisoners are taken from and return to. Carefully documenting the effects of incarceration on the material and emotional lives of families, this groundbreaking ethnography reveals how criminal justice policies are furthering rather than abating the problem of social disorder. Braman also delivers a number of genuinely new arguments.
Among these is the compelling assertion that incarceration is holding offenders unaccountable to victims, communities, and families. The author gives the first detailed account of incarceration's corrosive effect on social capital in the inner city and describes in poignant detail how the stigma of prison pits family and community members against one another. Drawing on a series of powerful family portraits supported by extensive empirical data, Braman shines a light on the darker side of a system that is failing the very families and communities it seeks to protect.

A book for anyone concerned about the level of literacy amongst prisoners. Behind The Lines is the product of some 15 years of working with offenders and people at risk in prison and in the community. It is based on the author's extensive experience of using creative writing to change and improve thinking and behaviour to prevent crime. It includes: Easy to read explanations of the method; Dozens of practical exercises and ideas for discussion; Advice about the different approaches; Samples of writing by offenders, inside and outside of prison; The author's views about what works to engage and encourage (often) wary participants. Behind the Lines represents a major contribution to rehabilitative work (in one sense it is the prison-writing equivalent of the highly successful Waterside Press publication, The Geese Theatre Handbook). A Key Resource For: Writers in residence; Offending behaviour group workers; Youth workers; Youth offending teams; Community workers; Psychotherapists, therapists and counsellors; Special needs workers and teachers; Anyone tackling literacy levels of risk groups... and people training or studying in these and related fields. Reviews 'A very useful resource for those working in difficult environments, with students who generally have low levels of traditional educational attainment, negative learning experiences and who, due to cultural and class barriers, are not accustomed to engaging with the arts, either in institutions or outside': Cormac Behan, Lecturer in Criminology, University of Sheffield. 'Essential reading for anyone interested in the real challenges of rehabilitation': Pat Jones, Director of the Prisoners Education Trust (2008-12). 'Shows how you can turn the lead of anger and despair in prisoners into the gold of insight and creativity': Oliver James, author. 'Shows a sceptical world that young offenders] are capable of reflection, of understanding what led them into the acts they have committed and the effects on other people and on themselves': Alicia Stubbersfield, Poet and Koestler Award Judge. 'A wake-up call to the educational system, which allows so many young people to leave school in the parlous position that he describes, and which creative writers up and down the country are devoting so much time and effort to mitigate': David Ramsbotham. Author Michael Crowley is a youth justice worker and writer. His works as a playwright include 'Beyond Omarska', 'The Man They Couldn't Hang' (published by Waterside Press 2010), and 'A Warning against Idle Gossip'. He has written for youth theatre and been writer in residence at a young offenders' institution for the last five years. He lives in West Yorkshire.

An easy-to-read prison survival guide of do's and don'ts. Perfect for anyone facing trial for an offence that may lead to imprisonment, their families and friends. Packed with humour as well as more serious items. Backed by prisoner support organizations. Straightforward and highly entertaining. Frankie started writing the LBP from day two of entering prison as a first-time offender. He had no idea how the system or a prison worked. He was clueless about it all and it was hard for him going in and frightening for the family and loved ones he left behind. The writing began as self-help and as the days progressed it occurred to Frankie that the LBP would prove useful to first-time offenders as well as other prisoners and help them get through what is surely one of the most difficult times in their lives. It also motivated him to get out on the prison wing and find out as much as possible about his new home. There are a lot of books about people in prison, people in far worse places than Frankie was and on far longer sentences. But the LBP is a book about prison not people, and will help new inmates, their friends and families get to know what to expect from the system. The LBP is a masterpiece in comic writing but somehow gets through to people with serious information in a way that more formal texts cannot. Already organizations connected to the criminal justice system are beginning to acknowledge that Frankie Owen's LBP is an ideal read for people facing the trauma of a first prison sentence. It will also be of considerable interest to other prisoners or people working in a custodial setting. "If people want to know what prison is like it's for them, if people need to know what happens in prison it's definitely for them". 'By the end of the book, I felt like Frankie Owens was my cell-mate. His style and execution is either perversely skilful or an absolute fluke, but whatever it is, it is certainly good': Prison Service Journal. 'Absolutely hilarious, I'm not sure it'll ever be standard prison issue but maybe it should be! Packed full of witty and wry observations and some extremely pertinent advice. It is well-structured, easy to read and informative. I hope he continues writing as The Little Book of Prison is something that the general public would love to read as well as a guide book for other prisoners': Koestler Award Judges 'Funny and educational, in a tongue in cheek kind of way, and has a much wider appeal than you might think': thebookbag.co.uk Frankie Owens was prisoner A1443CA at Her Majesty's pleasure until 2 August 2011. If he had been given the information gathered in LBP, he thinks that the first weeks inside would have been better and the learning curve not as steep.

On March 11, 1985, a van was pulled over in Warsaw for a routine traffic check that turned out to be anything but routine. Inside was Marek Kaminski, a Warsaw University student who also ran an underground press for Solidarity. The police discovered illegal books in the vehicle, and in a matter of hours five secret police escorted Kaminski to jail. A sociology and mathematics major one day, Kaminski was the next a political prisoner trying to adjust to a bizarre and dangerous new world. This remarkable book represents his attempts to understand that world.

As a coping strategy until he won his freedom half a year later by faking serious illness, Kaminski took clandestine notes on prison subculture. Much later, he discovered the key to unlocking that culture--game theory. Prison first appeared an irrational world of unpredictable violence and arbitrary codes of conduct. But as Kaminski shows in riveting detail, prisoners, to survive and prosper, have to master strategic decision-making. A clever move can shorten a sentence; a bad decision can lead to rape, beating, or social isolation. Much of the confusion in interpreting prison behavior, he argues, arises from a failure to understand that inmates are driven not by pathological emotion but by predictable and rational calculations.

Kaminski presents unsparing accounts of initiation rituals, secret codes, caste structures, prison sex, self-injuries, and of the humor that makes this brutal world more bearable. This is a work of unusual power, originality, and eloquence, with implications for understanding human behavior far beyond the walls of one Polish prison.

This sophomore/junior level core text is intended for the juvenile delinquency course taught in criminal justice, criminology, and sociology departments at both four year and two year institutions. Taking a sociological approach, Juvenile Delinquency, Eleventh Edition, discusses delinquency as it relates to and emerges from the youth's family, neighborhood, school, peer group, social class, and overall cultural and social environment. The author incorporates contributions from sociologists, psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other specialists who have sought to understand, explain, control, and prevent juvenile delinquency.

Getting Out offers the first systematic account of the evolution of early release as a public policy concern in England and Wales between 1960 and 1995. At a time when public discourse on crime has focused, to a significant degree, upon the powers of the police and the sentence of the court this book seeks to turn current debate on its head and examine the circumstances in which policy makers have found it desirable to reduce the custodial element of a prison sentence and return prisoners to the community. Drawing upon an extensive period of archival research, and interviews with key decision-makers, this book considers three defining periods of reform that illuminate the complex ideas, trade-offs, and moments of political controversy that have shaped this secretive and little understood area of penal policy. The book argues that early release is inherently bound up with prevailing societal justifications for punishment and the appropriate use of imprisonment within our liberal democratic system. It draws attention to the uneasy constitutional balance of power between the judiciary and the executive, and reflects upon the administrative task of governing large captive populations where the hopes and expectations of inmates do not always align with the interests of prison authorities or the community at large. In so doing, Getting Out challenges widespread assumptions about penal change and shows how government policy has been shaped by the legacy of past political choices, the organisation of central government departments and the fluid balance of power within Whitehall.

A Grip of Time (prison slang for a very long sentence behind bars) takes readers into a world most know little about-a maximum-security prison-and into the minds and hearts of the men who live there. These men, who are serving out life sentences for aggravated murder, join a fledgling Lifers' Writing Group started by award-winning author Lauren Kessler. Over the course of three years, meeting twice a month, the men reveal more and more about themselves, their pasts, and the alternating drama and tedium of their incarcerated lives. As they struggle with the weight of their guilt and wonder if they should hope for a future outside prison walls, Kessler struggles with the fiercely competing ideas of rehabilitation and punishment, forgiveness and blame that are at the heart of the American penal system. Gripping, intense, and heartfelt, A Grip of Time: When Prison Is Your Life shows what a lifetime with no hope of release looks like up-close.

Restorative justice is an innovative approach to addressing conflict and bullying, as well as disruptive, challenging and criminal behaviour. A restorative approach in a care setting shifts the emphasis from managing and responding to anti-social behaviour to the building, nurturing and repairing of relationships, and encourages the young person to accept responsibility and put things right. In this photocopiable resource, Belinda Hopkins identifies the practical benefits of employing the restorative approach. In extreme cases, this can mean dealing with serious incidents effectively without recourse to the police and the criminal justice system. For day-to-day interactions the approach builds on the principles of social pedagogy and 'restorative parenting', and offers a fresh look at encouraging self-regulation through the promotion of pro-social behaviour and greater involvement of the young people themselves in making choices that address everyone's needs. Just Care is essential reading for residential care managers and staff, social workers, youth offending team managers and those with responsibility for foster care training and development.

"The Society of Captives," first published in 1958, is a classic of modern criminology and one of the most important books ever written about prison.

Gresham Sykes wrote the book at the height of the Cold War, motivated by the world's experience of fascism and communism to study the closest thing to a totalitarian system in American life: a maximum security prison. His analysis calls into question the extent to which prisons can succeed in their attempts to control every facet of life--or whether the strong bonds between prisoners make it impossible to run a prison without finding ways of "accommodating" the prisoners.

Re-released now with a new introduction by Bruce Western and a new epilogue by the author, "The Society of Captives" will continue to serve as an indispensable text for coming to terms with the nature of modern power.

After explaining 'What is transgender?' this first book on transgender in a prison setting looks at the entire HM Prison Service regime for such people. Ranging from hard information about rules and regulations, the transition process and how to access it to practical suggestions about clothing, wigs and hairpieces, make-up and coming out, the book also deals with such matters as change of name, gender identity clinics, hormones, medication and use of prison showers and toilets. Covering the entire transition process the book contains contributions from a number of transgender prisoners as well as extracts from reports showing how those in transition still tend to attract a negative portrayal. Also included are the special security implications of related procedures and descriptions of the attitudes to transgender inmates of other prisoners and staff. It contains a number of appendices dealing with the latest 2016 HM Prison Service Instruction on transgender prisoners and a range of support mechanisms including a list of specialists in the field and other useful reference sources and contacts.It also contains Sarah Jane Baker's account of her own male-to-female transition and the difficulties she has faced behind bars. The first book of its kind. Written by a transgender life-sentence prisoner. Includes key extracts from the latest official publications. Contains practical information, advice, warnings and tips.

The UK Government's Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Strategy is one of the most significant developments in mental health and criminal justice in recent years. The challenges presented by personality disorder offenders are not unique to the UK and this book also provides a useful overview of developments in the UK for those working with this population in countries where health service provision and legal frameworks pose different challenges. Managing Personality Disordered Offenders: A Pathways Approach describes how the OPD Strategy has been implemented by a consortium of mental health trusts in the UK, in collaboration with the National Probation Service and the Prison Service. This volume covers the broad range of key tasks in developing and delivering an OPD service. This includes reviewing the political and clinical context and how it aims to address some of the criticisms levelled at previous initiatives developed to meet the needs of this population. In each chapter, the authors review the existing literature and discuss the various options that were considered during the development of each of the services. Through this lens, the reader gains a better understanding of the direction taken, followed by a detailed, practical "how to do it" guide.

Theories of Delinquency is a comprehensive survey of the theoretical approaches towards understanding delinquent behavior. Donald Shoemaker aptly presents all major individualistic and sociological theories in a standard format with basic assumptions, important concepts, and critical evaluations. Theories covered include biological and psychological explanations, anomie and social disorganization, differential association, drift theory, labeling theory, critical theories, and explanations of female delinquency. Now in its sixth edition, Theories of Delinquency contains up-to-date discussions based on current research throughout, extensive revisions to control theories, especially the general theory of crime, and expanded coverage of integrated and cutting-edge theories. Clearly written, consistently organized, and now thoroughly updated, Theories of Delinquency remains essential reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of crime and delinquency.

This ambitious volume brings together and assesses all major systematic reviews of the effectiveness of criminological interventions, to draw broad conclusions about what works in policing, corrections, developmental prevention, situational prevention, drug abuse treatments, sentencing and deterrence, and communities. Systematic reviews aim to minimize any possible bias in drawing conclusions by stating explicit criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies, by conducting extensive and wide-ranging searches for possibly eligible studies, and by making all stages of the review explicit and transparent so that the methods can be checked and replicated. Over a decade ago, a concerted effort was made by members of the criminology community, including the Editors and contributors of this volume, to bring the practice of systematic reviews to the study of Criminology, providing replicable, evidence-based data to answer key questions about the study of crime causation, detection, and prevention. Now, the pioneers in this effort present a comprehensive stock-taking of what has been learned in the past decade of systematic reviews in criminology. Much has been discovered about the effectiveness of (for example) boot camps, "hot spots" policing, closed-circuit television surveillance, neighborhood watch, anti-bullying programs in schools, early parenting programs, drug treatment programs, and other key topics. This volume will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, as well as in related fields such as public health and forensic science, with important implications for policy-makers and practitioners. Decisively showing that the "nothing works" era is over, this volume takes stock of what we know, and still need to know, to prevent crime. I plan to keep this book close at hand and to use it often! Francis T. Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati At a time when there is a broad commitment to bringing science to the front lines of practice, this book should be on the reading list of both policymakers and scholars. Laurie O. Robinson, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law Society, George Mason University and former Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice

This book critically examines socio-political constructions of risk related to sexual offending behaviour by and among children and young people and charts the rise of harmful sexual or exploitative behaviour among peers, drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and primary research. Discussion of these behaviours is exhibited against a backdrop of the premature cultural sexualisation of contemporary childhood, which challenges traditional conceptions of childhood, victimhood and gendered sexual identities more broadly. It examines the complexities of peer-based sexual behaviours in a range of settings, including within organisational contexts such as schools and care homes, within families and peer-based relationships, as well as online contexts including sexting and cyberbullying. It draws out the myriad legal, practical and policy challenges of negotiating the boundaries between normal/experimental, risky/problematic and harmful sexual behaviour, and in particular the demarcation between coercion and consent, both for professionals as well as children and young people themselves.

The authors of the 20 chapters in Juvenile Crime and Justice address various hotly debated topics along three loosely connected themes: prevention, prosecution, and corrections. Each author presents arguments both in favor of and opposed to various treatments, programs, and punishments, examining issues such as youth curfews, juveniles in adult courts, legal representation for juveniles, juvenile boot camps, group homes, out-of-home placement, and more. The chapters included cover the leading arguments pertaining to key topics in this field and point out where more research needs to be done which, at present, includes many of the most controversial issues in juvenile justice policy.

The Series

The five brief, issues-based books in SAGE Reference s "Key Issues in Crime & Punishment Series "offer examinations of controversial programs, practices, problems or issues from varied perspectives. Volumes correspond to the five central subfields in the Criminal Justice curriculum: Crime & Criminal Behavior, Policing, The Courts, Corrections, and Juvenile Justice.

Each volume consists of approximately 20 chapters offering succinct pro/con examinations, and Recommended Readings conclude each chapter, highlighting different approaches to or perspectives on the issue at hand. As a set, these volumes provide perfect reference support for students writing position papers in undergraduate courses spanning the Criminal Justice curriculum. Each title is approximately 350 pages in length."

In 1997 the newly modernized Labour party swept into power promising a radical overhaul of the youth justice system. The creation of inter-agency Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) for the delivery of youth justice services were the cornerstone of the new approach. These new YOTs were designed to tackle an 'excuse culture' that was allegedto pervade the youth justice system and aimed to encourage the emergence of a shared culture among youth justice practitioners from different agencies. The transformation of the youth justice system brought about a period of intense disruption for the practitioners working within it. The nature and purpose of contemporary youth justice work was called into question and wider issues of occupational identity and culture became of crucial importance. Through a detailed ethnographic study of the formation of a YOT this book explores a previously neglected area of organisational cultures in criminal justice. It examines the nature of occupational culture and professional identity through the lived experience of youth justice professionals in this time of transition and change.It shows how profound and complex of the effects of organisational change are, and the fundamental challenges it raises for practitioners' sense of professional identity and vocation. Transforming Youth Justice makes a highly significant contribution not only to the way that professional cultures are understood in criminal justice, but to an understanding of the often dissonant relationship between policy and practice.

Peer mentoring is an increasingly popular criminal justice intervention in custodial and community settings. Peer mentors are community members, often with lived experiences of criminal justice, who work or volunteer to help people in rehabilitative settings. Despite the growth of peer mentoring internationally, remarkably little research has been done in this field. This book offers the first in-depth analysis of peer mentoring in criminal justice. Drawing upon a rigorous ethnographic study of multiple community organisations in England, it identifies key features of criminal justice peer mentoring. Findings result from interviews with people delivering and using services and observations of practice. Peer Mentoring in Criminal Justice reveals a diverse practice, which can involve one-to-one sessions, group work or more informal leisure activities. Despite diversity, five dominant themes are uncovered. These include Identity, which is deployed to inspire change and elevate knowledge based on lived experiences; Agency, or a sense of self-direction, which emerges through dialogue between peers; Values or core conditions, including caring, listening and taking small steps; Change, which can be a terrifying and difficult struggle, yet can be mediated by mentors; and Power, which is at play within mentoring relationships and within the organisations, contexts and ideologies that surround peer mentoring. Peer mentoring offers mentors a practical opportunity to develop confidence, skills and hope for the future, whilst offering inspiration, care, empathy and practical support to others. Written in a clear and direct style this book will appeal to students and scholars in criminology, sociology, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the social effects of peer mentoring.

The press called Martin's actions a "crime spree." Already convicted of armed robbery, Martin was facing the death penalty. In less than two weeks the jury would decide his fate. Terrified that his son would be sentenced to die, Phillip did the only thing he felt he could do: in an act of faith and desperation in his garage with the car exhaust running, Phillip made the consummate sacrifice to spare his son the ultimate punishment. Ironically, his suicide presented Martin's with another chance at life; the jury, moved by Martin's loss, spared his life.
Phillip's story-like those of the other parents, siblings, children, and cousins chronicled in this book-vividly illustrates the precarious position family members of capital offenders occupy in the criminal justice system. At once outsiders and victims, they live in the shadow of death, crushed by trauma, grief, and helplessness. In this penetrating account of guilt and innocence, shame and triumph, devastating loss and ultimate redemption, the voices of these family members add a new dimension to debates about capital punishment and how communities can prevent and address crime.
Restorative justice theory, which views violent crime as an extreme violation of relationships; searches for ways to hold offenders accountable; and meets the needs of victims and communities torn apart by the crime, organizes these narratives and integrates offenders' families into the process of transforming conflict and promoting justice and healing for all. What emerges from hundreds of hours' worth of in-depth interviews with family members of offenders and victims, legal teams, and leaders in the abolition and restorative justice movements is a vision of justice strongly rooted in the social fabric of communities. Showing that forgiveness and recovery are possible in the wake of even the most heinous crimes, while holding victims' stories sacred, this eye-opening book bridges the pain of living in the shadow of death with the possibility of a reparative form of justice.
Anyone working with victims, offenders, and their families-from lawyers and social workers to mediators and activists-will find this riveting work indispensable to their efforts.

"The Child Savers deeply influenced me and dozens of other feminist scholars who have studied social policy critically. This reissue is remarkable in allowing us to rethink it, and nowhere more valuable than in Tony Platt's own thoughtful reconsideration."- Linda Gordon, professor of history, New York University "The Child Savers, at forty, is a classic. Accompanied by lively contributions that reflect on its impact and outline recent research, this new edition will ensure that the book lives on, its message always challenging, its relevance undiminished."- Hugh Cunningham, emeritus professor of social history, University of Kent "The Child Savers is a classic, and the updated edition is even more relevant today; a must for the informed public and the perceptive student."- Jock Young, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice, Graduate Center, City University of New York and John Jay College "Platt's brilliant inquiry into the oxymoron of juvenile justice demands again that we upend our ritualized system of punishing, containing, and crushing our defiant young."-Bernardine Dohrn, Northwestern University School of Law Hailed as a definitive analytical and historical study of the juvenile justice system, this 40th anniversary edition of The Child Savers features a new essay by Anthony M. Platt that highlights recent directions in the field, as well as a critique of his original text. This expanded edition includes insightful commentaries from cross-disciplinary academics, along with an introductory essay by Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, critically examining how Platt's influential study has impacted many of the central arguments social scientists and historians face today. Anthony M. Platt is a professor emeritus at California State University, Sacramento. He is the author of several books on American history, social policy, and race relations. A volume in the Critical Issues in Crime and Society series, edited by Raymond J. Michalowski

A groundbreaking book founded on extensive original research, designed to determine how restorative dialogue works, and the role of forgiveness within it. The research involved interviews with 20 victims who went through a Victim Offender Dialogue (used in crimes of severe violence), and documents how the shifts in energy during the course of their dialogue moves the toxicity associated with the crime to a different place. This study explores the role of bilateral forgiveness in restorative work and addresses key questions about the role of forgiveness in restorative justice, such as how it can be measured. It also outlines a model which explains how the energy flow of dyadic forgiveness in restorative justice dialogue is formed. Rich in data and in findings, this book will deepen understanding of how restorative justice works, and will inform future research and practice in the field.

The funny, insightful and moving account of what happens to a close, loving middle-class family when the father is unexpectedly thrown in jail. After fourteen years of marriage, Mel Jacob's life looked as perfect as the roses perched above her white picket fence. The nice house in the suburbs, two great kids, a good husband. Until... Her life took an unexpected detour when her seemingly saintly husband was jailed for two years. In Sickness, in Health . . . and in Jail follows Mel's funny, moving and insightful journey as she navigates single parenthood, prison visitations and nosy neighbours. Mel's revealing account is the story of the family left behind. It chronicles the grief, the stigma and the conversational minefields of her husband's whereabouts, as well as the logistical problems of making a baby sibling for her two children, and why it's not appropriate to tell people that Daddy's in jail. In Sickness, in Health . . . and in Jail is a funny and touching account of grief and love and forgiveness.

Young minority men are often portrayed in popular media as victims of poverty and discrimination. A Dream Denied delves deeper, investigating the social and cultural implications of the "American dream" narrative for young minority men in the juvenile justice systems in Boston and Chicago. This book connects young male offenders' cycles of desistance and recidivism with normative assumptions about success and failure in American society, exposing a tragic disconnect between structural reality and juvenile justice policy. This book challenges us to reconsider how American society relates to its most vulnerable members, how it responds to their personal failures, and how it promises them a better future.