Casualties Of Community Disorder

This book provides a detailed account of the criminal careers of 170 women who committed violent street crimes in New York City, describing their entry into criminal activities, their development into persistent street criminals, and, for some, their eventual transition out of street crime.

Unlike the outcry over street crime committed by males, concerns about women and violence have centered primarily on their roles as victims of sexual and physical violence committed by strangers and by males in intimate relationships. Rarely is violence by women considered in the development or testing of theories of aggression.The book provides a

Criminal justice scholars Deborah Baskin and Ira Sommers draw on census data, analyses of political and economic changes, street drug and criminal subculture, and ethnographic observations to examine the career patterns of female violent offenders and the relationships of these women to family members and their communities.

A supplemental textbook that examines the self-control theory of crime from a range of perspectives, both supportive and critical.

This book is unique in that it documents the radical contribution of women philanthropists and practitioners to offender rehabilitation by undertaking an evaluation of the development of a residential programme for female offenders run by the Griffins Society. The author illuminates the pathways of women into, and out of, serious crime; explores the dynamics of rehabilitative practice in the volatile setting of residential care; and also analyses the qualities of successful rehabilitative practice.

In the United States today, we are on the verge of fulfilling a nightmare scenario. Parents are fearful of letting their children play in their own yards and elderly people are afraid to leave their homes. The bogeyman in this rampant panic about crime is the young black male, who, in the media and public image, is a ?superpredator? lurking on every street corner ready to attack any prey that is vulnerable. But is crime in America really as bad as the public has been made to believe?Power, Politics, and Crime argues that the current panic over crime has been manufactured by the media, law enforcement bureaucracies, and the private prison industry. It shows how the definition of criminal behavior systematically singles out the inner-city African American. But urban minorities aren't the only victims. Although crime rates have been declining for 25 years, vast amounts of money pour into the criminal justice-industrial complex, diverting scarce resources from other social services such as education, social welfare, and health care. While in recent years downsizing has affected almost every segment of the public sector, the criminal justice bureaucracies have seen an unprecedented expansion.Through ethnographic observations, analysis of census data, and historical research, William Chambliss describes what is happening, why it has come about, and what can be done about it. He explores the genesis of crime as a political issue, and the effect that crime policies have had on different segments of the population. The book is more than a statement about the politics of crime and punishment?it's a powerful indictment of contemporary law enforcement practices in the United States.In addition to updating the data the author has added a discussion of the "declining crime rate." Contrary to presentations in the media and by law enforcement agencies, the rate has been declining for over 25 years and therefore cannot be attributed to any "get tough on crime" policies so dear to the hearts of prosecutors and politicians. Chapter Seven, "Crime Myths and Smokescreens" has been completely revised and updated. Updates include a discussion of the recent scandal in the Los Angeles Police Department which has resulted in criminal charges against police officers and the release of numerous convicted felons because of falsified evidence and testimony on the part of police officers. The attack on Louima in the police station in New York as well as the shooting of Diallo are discussed in some detail as well as other recent exposures of police brutality and corruption. The sections on white collar, corporate, and state crimes have been updated and recent examples added to the text.

In Search of Safety takes a close look at the sources of gendered violence and conflict in women’s prisons. The authors examine how intersectional inequalities and cumulative disadvantages are at the root of prison conflict and violence and mirror the women’s pathways to prison. Women must negotiate these inequities by developing forms of prison capital—social, human, cultural, emotional, and economic—to ensure their safety while inside. The authors also analyze how conflict and subsequent violence result from human-rights violations inside the prison that occur within the gendered context of substandard prison conditions, inequalities of capital among those imprisoned, and relationships with correctional staff. In Search of Safety proposes a way forward—the implementation of international human-rights standards for U.S. prisons.

Prisoner resettlement is high on current political and policy agendas. The high reconviction rates of ex-prisoners have been acknowledged for many years but the rapidly rising prison population has meant that more prisoners than ever before are released. This together with the pressure this puts on to the infrastructure of the prison estate and the publication of two influential reports which highlighted the problems faced by prisoners leaving prison has concentrated attention on attempts to ensure that prisoners do not return to prison once released. The resettlement of prisoners is now a priority policy area linked directly to Government initiatives to reduce reoffending. The renewed policy interest in prisoners resettlement forms the context of this volume, which brings together current knowledge and understanding about prisoners resettlement. The book draws on the contributors extensive experience as researchers and practitioners in the field and includes contributions from acknowledged experts. Prisoner Resettlement provides a comprehensive review and analysis of resettlement policy and practice in England and Wales in the early part of the 21st century. In particular it: critically reviews current policy, theory, practice and research on prisoners resettlement explores practice issues through case studies of two resettlement initiatives and an examination of accommodation provision and voluntary sector involvement in prisoners resettlement; and examines the particular issues raised by the resettlement of different groups of prisoners including women, minority ethnic groups, prolific and priority offenders and high-risk offenders.