Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control [Paperback]

James Q. Wilson (Editor), Joan Petersilia (Editor), Robert B. Hawkins (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1558155090 | ISBN-13: 978-1558155091

In 1995, James Q. Wilson and Joan Petersilia undertook the project of writing a comprehensive textbook on crime, inviting 26 internationally recognized authorities to write chapters in their areas of expertise. Their efforts resulted in the best-selling and critically acclaimed text 'Crime'.

The revised edition of this classic text is updated to include relevant and important research in the field that has appaeared since the first edition was issued.

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About the Author

James Q. Wilson is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on crime in the United States. His many books on the subject include 'Thinking about Crime', 'Crime and Human Nature', and 'Crime and Public Policy'. Wilson taught at Harvard University for Twenty-six years and since 1985 is now James A. Collins Professor of Management Emeritas at UCLA.

Joan Petersilia has been honored for her major studies of policing, sentincing, career criminals, corrections, racial discrimination, and the effectiveness of probation and parole. Formerly director of the Rand Corporation's Criminal Justice Program, she is Professor of Criminology, Law and Society in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 705 pages
• Publisher: ICS Press (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558155090
• ISBN-13: 978-1558155091
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #401,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another textbook..., December 23, 2008

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Chris (Cerritos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control (Paperback)

This book was required reading/textbook for a graduate level course I took on Public Policy, Crime and the Criminal Justice System. I have to admit, some of the texts I've had to read have been difficult to get through....talk about DRY! Not so with "Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control."

Any student, practitioner or expert in the field of criminology can attest to the fact that there is no shortage of research and/or articles in the field. The question is: Which articles do you choose? Which articles are so ground-breaking and so profound in their findings that they DEMAND attention? How do you cull through the fluff to get to the stuff that's really worth reading?

Petersilia and Wilson have done the culling for you. "Crime" is a must-read for every policymaker and concerned citizen/voter grappling with how we as a society can most effectively address the issues of crime, punishment and incarceration.

"Crime" is contemporary compilation of 19 stunning articles written by 26 authorities in the field. What makes this work so notable is the fact that it relies on facts and data to report what we know about crime, who commits it, and which crime prevention and rehabilitation methods work and which do not. The subjects addressed range from juvenile crime, crime prevention, gun control, families and crime, rehabilitation and treatment programs, substance abuse policy, fair and effective policing, deterrence, and prosecution, to name just a few of the chapter headings.

I was particularly impressed with the following chapters: Community Corrections by Dr. Petersilia; Prosecution by Dr. Forst; Fair and Effective Policing by Dr. Sherman; and Families and Crime by Dr. Farrington. I was blown away by the research. I did not realize how much we really KNOW about crime.