Publisher Description

Although criminal justice systems in developed Western countries are much alike in form, structure, and function, the American system is unique. While it is structurally similar to those of other Western countries, the punishments it imposes are often vastly harsher. No other Western country retains capital punishment or regularly employs life-without-parole, three-strikes, or lengthy mandatory minimum sentencing laws. As a result, the U.S. imprisonment rate ofnearly 800 per 100,000 residents dwarfs rates elsewhere. The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice is an essential guide to the development and operation of the Americancriminal justice system. A leading scholar in the field and an experienced editor, Michael Tonry has brought together a team of first-rate scholars to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview and introduction to this crucial institution. Expertly organized, the various sections of the Handbook explore the American criminal justice system from a variety of perspectives-including its purposes, functions, problems, and priorities-and present analyses of police and policing, juvenilejustice, prosecution and sentencing, and community and institutional corrections, making it a complete and unrivaled portrait of how America approaches crime and criminal justice, and giving persuasiveanswers as to why and how it has developed to what it is today.Accessibly written for a wide audience, the Handbook serves as a definitive reference for scholars and a broad survey for students in criminology and criminal justice.

Author Biography

Michael Tonry is Sonosky Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota

Table of Contents

List of Contributors1. Crime and Criminal Justice (Michael Tonry)2. Crime Trends (Eric Baumer)3. Evidence-based Crime Policy (Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington)Purposes and Functions4. Punishment (Michael Tonry)5. Crime Prevention (Brandon C. Welsh)6. Treatment and Rehabilitation (Frank T. Cullen and Paula Smith)7. General Deterrence (Robert Apel and Daniel Nagin)8. Reparation and Restoration (Kathy Daly and Gitana Proietti-Scifoni)9. Reassurance, Reinforcement, and Legitimacy (Matt Matravers)Problems and Priorities10. Drugs and Crime (Jonathan P. Caulkins and Mark A. R. Kleiman)11. Race, Ethnicity, and Crime (Cassia Spohn)12. Sex, Gender, and Crime (Rosemary Gartner)13. Immigrants and Crime (Sandra Bucerius)14. Guns and Crime (Charles Wellford)15. Work and Crime (Aaron Chalfin and Steven Raphael)Police and Policing16. Police Organization (Stephen D. Mastrofski and James J. Willis)17. Police and Crime Control (Lawrence W. Sherman)18. Community and Problem-oriented Policing (Michael D. Reisig)19. Legitimacy and Lawful Policing (Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic)Juvenile Justice20. Juvenile Justice (Barry C. Feld and Donna M. Bishop)Prosecution and Sentencing21. Prosecution (Candace McCoy)22. Sentencing (Brian Johnson)23. Mandatory Penalties (Michael Tonry)24. Capital Punishment (Ray Paternoster)Community and Institutional Corrections25. Jails and Pretrial Release (Brandon Applegate)26. Probation and Community Penalties (Stan C. Proband)27. Drug and Other Specialty Courts (Ojmarrh Mitchell)28. Prisons (Yvonne Jewkes)29. Women's Prisons (Candace Kruttschnitt)30. Parole and Prisoner Reentry (Joan Petersilia)

Review

"[The Handbook] provides an invaluable resource for beginning to understand criminology and criminal justice's history in order to better understand its present. It also illuminates avenues into the future-paths criminologists can take to avoid the pitfalls of the past and learn from its lessons Finally, the authors of the chapters almost always bring their discussion back to the present. This is important, as it connects the past to the present. In this way,criminology and criminal justice can proceed with a strong foundation of what has happened in the field, why it might have happened the way it did, and what we can do better moving forward."--Contemporary Sociology

Long Description

This handbook provides an accessible, high-quality, and comprehensive introduction to and overview of the operation of the American criminal justice system. It is divided into five sections covering the purposes and functions of the system, its problems and priorities, and its main institutions-police and policing, prosecution and sentencing, and community and institutional corrections. Highly regarded in the field, Michael Tonry brings together a mix of
established, senior scholars and up-and-coming writers to provide authoritative and cutting-edge contributions on hot-button topics, from the justice system's handling of immigration and terrorism to racial profiling, parole, and re-entry, as well as bread-and-butter issues like incapacitation, jails, drugs,
and police strategy. As countries vary substantially in the detailed operation of some agencies and few scholars have detailed knowledge of the operation of two or more countries' systems, the focus is principally, though not exclusively, on the American justice system.

Review Text

"[The Handbook] provides an invaluable resource for beginning to understand criminology and criminal justice's history in order to better understand its present. It also illuminates avenues into the future-paths criminologists can take to avoid the pitfalls of the past and learn from its lessons Finally, the authors of the chapters almost always bring their discussion back to the present. This is important, as it connects the past to the present. In this way,criminology and criminal justice can proceed with a strong foundation of what has happened in the field, why it might have happened the way it did, and what we can do better moving forward."--Contemporary Sociology

Review Quote

"[The Handbook] provides an invaluable resource for beginning to understand criminology and criminal justice's history in order to better understand its present. It also illuminates avenues into the future-paths criminologists can take to avoid the pitfalls of the past and learn from its lessons Finally, the authors of the chapters almost always bring their discussion back to the present. This is important, as it connects the past to the present. In this way, criminology and criminal justice can proceed with a strong foundation of what has happened in the field, why it might have happened the way it did, and what we can do better moving forward."-- Contemporary Sociology

Feature

Conferences: AALL, AALS, ASC, ACJS, ASOA, ESS, LASA, APLS
Courses: Criminal Justice Theory / Crime ( LW0165 ), Sociology of Criminal Justice System (SSA170), Introduction to Criminal Justice (VE7013).
Selling point: This handbook is an accessible, high-quality, and comprehensive introduction to and overview of the operation of the American criminal justice system.
Selling point: It provides contributions on hot-button topics, from immigration, terrorism, and racial profiling, as well as bread and butter issues like jails, drugs, and police strategy.

Details