Crime and Punishment in America

by Elliott Currie

Book Overview

A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE When Crime and Punishment in America was first published in 1998, the national incarceration rate had doubled in just over a decade, and yet the United States... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805060162
• ISBN13: 9780805060164
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Fight conventional wisdom

Conventional wisdom can, at times, be wrong. This may very well be true of the idea that simply building more prisons and throwing more people in jail will solve the problem of crime. Very simply, Currie points out that this only takes care of the criminals who are caught. It really does nothing to take care of the problem at its source. Although prison has a deterrent effect, the effect is relative to the situation the person finds himself in. For instance, if the person is desperate, the person is more likely to commit a crime than a person who is well off. Prison, as pointed out in the book, is largely mere incarceration. It protects the public, but it doesn't solve the problem. What struck me most about this book is the number or programs that have worked at reducing crime. I was happy to see that change is possible, but I was dismayed that none of this seems to be making much of a foothold in political arenas. People are still in the grip of fear. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to seriously think about the problem of crime. I would also (if I had the power) require this book of all politicians whose office directly affects the citizenry.

Prison myths

Crime, like any other social issue, is a topic people have very strong opinions on. But also like any other social issue, most people don't have much basis for their opinions other than beliefs and values steeped in misunderstanding. Elliott Currie writes with the view that we must redefine our view of the criminal justice system, their purpose, and how our nation struggles with violence. The design of it all, he argues, is out of whack. Locking large numbers of people into cells and then releasing them without having addressed the underlying reasons why they got there in the first place is no solution. Currie brings in much statistical data, which can make the first two chapters slow, but it is necessary. You can't take social "science" seriously without such data. He ends on a more philosophical note, but in between, he creates a well structured critique of America's crime situation.First, he wonders about prisons. Are we soft on crime? Does prison work? And do prisons pay back in prevented crimes what they cost? Then he suggests that there are alternatives to incarceration alone, and discusses methods of prevention. He also discusses crime as a social phenomenon, and economic factors that create favorable settings for crime. And finally, he suggests that our view of the justice system itself must be revised, that decreasing violence should be a priority above punishment.Having sat in on Elliott Currie's "Crime and Criminal Justice" class at UC Berkeley, I found myself wanting a little more from the book. His class was more extensive and covered other issues like gun control, the death penalty, how to get and interpret data on crime, etc. But this is not a textbook on crime. It is Currie's plea that we all take responsibility for the lives of many who are young and live marginal existences, who suffer abuses and desperate conditions. We provide them with the social service of incarceration and hope to be rid of their disagreeable behavior. Is this what we really want? Even if your views on crime are more conservative than Currie's, he provides an argument that is intellectual and passionate, and you may at least wonder if he has a point.

Crime and Punishment in America

This book was required reading a sociology class I took and I would recommend it to anyone. The book is easy to read, easy to understand, interesting, and relevent to any member of society. Currie builds a strong thesis as to why our justice system does us little justice, and he offers some valuable suggestions as to how the system could do us more justice. I would especially recomend this book to all voters.

Currie's Wisdom is Being Ignored

Elliott Currie doesn't seem to understand that you aren't supposed to approach the issue of crime by actually thinking about it and looking at the evidence. These days crime policy is increasingly monotone--a one-note cry of "get tough." When crime fails to vanish like the "get tough" proponents claim it will, the cry simply becomes "get tougher." So we get the death penalty for more and more crimes, "three-strikes" laws to give life sentences for all sorts of offenses, huge numbers of people imprisoned solely for posession of drugs, and states like California spending more on their prison system than on their impoverished colleges and universities.Anyone who reads Elliott Curries book will find that these policies do not have a leg to stand on intellectually. Currie begins by reviewing what he calls our "prison experiment." For some 30 years we have taken the "get tough" approach, over which time we have increased the prison population by a factor of about six. Over this time, the level of crime has changed little, as Currie amply demonstrates.Currie then goes on to demolish what he calls "prison myths," a whole set of factoids about crime and the justice system that are put out by right-wing ideologues like John DiIulio, Charles Murray and Morgan Reynolds, and spread by pundits and politicians like William Bennett, Phil Gramm, and Newt Gingrich. To give one example, Currie shows how Reynolds concocts his claim that robbers serve an average prison sentence of 23 days (the actual figure is over 4 years). What Reynolds does is divide the time served by convicted robbers by the total number of roberies in a year. Reynolds ignores simple facts: over half of all robberies are not reported to police, many that are reported are not solved, and many robbers commit more than one crime. The result is a meaningless statistic. While Currie is too well-mannered to say it, it is obvious why Reynolds and his like manipulate the data the way they do--they are intentionally deceiving people.If Currie had done no more than debunk the "get tough" approach, his book would be worthy of five stars for that alone. But the second half of his book is even more revealing. Currie has made a comprehensive review of solid research on all kinds of social policy. What he reveals is dramatic--we know what kinds of policies will reduce crime.Currie describes a whole set of policies that have been shown, with hard evidence, to be effective. A few examples will convey the type of policies that are needed: -"Home visiting" programs that provide support for low-income parents with infants and young children in the form of regular visits from nurses. Such programs are proven to be effective in reducing child abuse and neglect, which are long-term causes of crime. -Intensive mentoring programs for juveniles with criminal records, which involve having caseworkers or therapists meet several times weekly with the juveniles

Currie debunks the myths behind the criminal justice system

"Crime and Punishment in America" provides excellent examples of how common sense and rational science have been sacrificed in criminal justice policymaking in favor of politically favorable actions. Currie explores why "lock 'em up and throw away the key", while a very politically fashionable approach to crime, will only serve to exacerbate the crime crisis. Currie also provides excellent answers to conservative critics like James Q. Wilson and John J. DiIulio who seem to be grossly misinterpreting the data we have about crime.As a former criminal justice student of Currie's myself, I must say that, along with his lectures at Berkeley, his detailed analysis in this book went a long way in changing my personal views about the crime problem in America.