THE TOUGH-ON-CRIME MYTH

Real Solutions to Cut Crime

by Peter T. Elikann

When politicians appear in front of the TV cameras or at a public forum to "talk tough on crime," they usually advocate only one policy: more and longer prison sentences. As a result of this simplistic platform, America now maintains the world's largest and most expensive prison population, having quintupled since 1970 to more than 1.5 million people behind bars at a cost of over $30 billion a year! Has this made us feel any safer?

The Tough-on-Crime Myth: Real Solutions to Cut Crime persuasively argues that an increasing reliance on prisons as the primary weapon in fighting crime has not only proven ineffective but has also endangered the public. Author Peter T. Elikann, a noted criminal defense attorney and policy analyst, concurs that violent criminals certainly should be incarcerated. But the unprecedented use of prisons to punish first-time nonviolent offenders is severely depleting local and national crime-fighting dollars. According to a recent American Psychological Association study, 94 percent of violent-crime-fighting funds are spent, not on prevention, but on punishment, which does little to assure frightened citizens of their safety and even less to satisfy the victims and their embittered families.

As a cost-effective alternative to incarcerating nonviolent offenders, Elikann proposes a stringent policy whereby offenders report for a rigorous daily regimen of community-service work, job training, rehabilitation, and civic restitution. This alternative suggests a way to lower the rearrest rate at a fraction of the cost of imprisonment, increase public safety, and create more prison space for violent or repeat offenders.

The Tough-on-Crime Myth is a forceful call to move beyond sound-bite rhetoric and bumper-sticker slogans, and will interest, surprise, challenge, and inspire anyone who feels unsafe at home or on the streets, as well as those who have an interest in law enforcement, criminal justice, and politics.

1996, 5½ x 8½, 305 pp, indexed, hard cover.
THE TOUGH-ON-CRIME MYTH: $25.95
(ORDER NUMBER 99155)

GO TO ORDER FORM

MORE BOOKS

LOOMPANICS UNLIMITED 1998 Online Retail Catalog
Order Toll-Free 1-800-380-2230, Monday Through Friday, 8am to 4 pm
YOUR ORDER IS SHIPPED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIPT!