IMPRISONING COMMUNITIES HOW MASS INCARCERATION MAKES DISADVANTAGED NEIGHBORHOODS: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse (Studies in Crime and Public Policy) - Softcover

CLEAR, Todd R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195387201 ISBN 13: 9780195387209

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

In the first detailed, empirical exploration of the effects of mass incarceration on poor places, Imprisoning Communities demonstrates that in high doses incarceration contributes to the very social problems it is intended to solve: it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and parents of emotional and financial support; and threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods. Especially at risk are children who, research shows, are more likely to commit a crime if a father or brother has been to prison. Clear makes the counterintuitive point that when incarceration concentrates at high levels, crime rates will go up. Removal, in other words, has exactly the opposite of its intended effect: it destabilizes the community, thus further reducing public safety.

About this title

About the Author

Todd R. Clear is a Distinguished Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and founding editor of the journal Criminology & Public Policy. He is the author of eleven books and numerous articles and book chapters on criminal justice issues ranging from corrections and sentencing to community justice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195387201
• ISBN 13: 9780195387209
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 255