The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives [Paperback]

David Cayley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999 | ISBN-10: 0829813330 | ISBN-13: 978-0829813333

The Expanding Prison is a provocative, cogent argument for prison reform. David Cayley argues that our overpopulated prisons are more reflective of a society that is becoming increasingly polarized than of an actual surge in crime. This book considers proven alternatives to imprisonment that emphasize settlement-oriented techniques over punishment, and move us towards a vision of justice as peace making rather than one of vengeance.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Cayley is a writer and broadcaster at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He lives and works in Toronto. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: The Pilgrim Press (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829813330
• ISBN-13: 978-0829813333
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,840,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars JUSTICE AS PEACE MAKING, July 1, 2002

By 

Allan M. Savage (Thunder Bay, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives (Paperback)

Cayley doubts that prisons are instruments of correction. Like all institutions they grow to a size which frustrates their original intention. To illustrate this he cites national (Canadian) and international examples of how prisons currently work. Cayley understands justice as peace making and incorporates into his arguments insights from critical thinkers whose notions are significant to prison reform. We are social beings prior to understanding ourselves as individuals, he notes, and suggests that a moral understanding of good and evil is necessary to obtain justice. He writes (p. 85) that "In a world without good, evil is secularized as crime." and "Justice without a sense of the good is darkened." Cayley offers excellent historical insights into the relationship between prison rehabilitation and Christianity that have implications for the future direction of the treatment of prisoners. The notion of 'truth as relational' (p. 323), which he attributes to Martin Buber, reveals a phenomenological understanding of justice. This understanding contrasts with the classical ideas of Aristotle and Aquinas which currently underpin concepts of justice. Anyone interested in the alternatives available for prison reform or the religious and pastoral care in prisons will find a wealth of information in Cayley's book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent argument for penal reduction, January 13, 2001

By 

"staceylb" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives (Paperback)

Comprehensive book based on numerous interviews and extensive research. The author provides a very persuasive argument for penal reduction and explains how and why the rate of imprisonment in the West continues to grow steadily while crime rates are in fact decreasing. He also presents an good overview of alternatives to incarceration that have proven success (in direct contrast to the proven failure of imprisonment). I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent argument for penal reduction, January 13, 2001

By 

"staceylb" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives (Paperback)

Comprehensive book based on numerous interviews and extensive research. The author provides a very persuasive argument for penal reduction and explains how and why the rate of imprisonment in the West continues to grow steadily while crime rates are in fact decreasing. He also presents an good overview of alternatives to incarceration that have proven success (in direct contrast to the proven failure of imprisonment). I highly recommend this book.