The old approaches to fighting crime just aren't working. Two thirds of people released from prison commit anothercrime within two years. In Smart on Crime, career prosecutor Kamala D. Harris shatters the old distinctions, rooted in false choices and myths, and offers a compelling argument for how to make the criminal justice system truly, not just rhetorically, tough. Harris spells out the necessary shifts that will increase public safety, reduce costs, and strengthen our communities when our politicians and law enforcement officials learn how to become tough and smart on crime.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Kamala D. Harris was a prosecutor in Oakland, California, before being elected as San Francisco's District Attorney in 2003 and re-elected in 2007.
Joan O'C. Hamilton is a Menlo Park, California-based writer and former Bay Area bureau chief for Business Week magazine.
Joan O'C. Hamilton is a Menlo Park, California-based writer and former Bay Area bureau chief for Business Week magazine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By M. Dunkerley
Format:Hardcover
Well written and engaging, this book opens a door into big city crime and how to address it. A must-read for any would-be prosecutor and urban resident, in particular. It dispels myths about the impact of crimes with a balanced eye on the one wronged, the perpetrator and law enforcement, and should make any California resident comfortable--and hopeful--about seeing Harris in higher office. Hamilton does an excellent job of capturing the prosecutor's perspective without letting this drift into hagiography.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Just Me
Format:Hardcover
She really explains how we're just recycling criminals. When are conservatives going to wake up and realize that throwing people in jail for nonviolent crimes is actually making our communities LESS safe rather than more safe?
Instead, we need to help them get "Back on Track".
Instead, we need to help them get "Back on Track".
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Emily S
Format:Hardcover
Truancy...who'd have thought? I read the whole book but one of the things that I was most struck by was how we've always thought of truancy as a minor problem; no big deal. But here's someone who understands how addressing this `minor' problem yields big results in fighting crime.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What I really like about this book is how it exposes and debunks the myths about crime that have shackled us to the failed status quo system. Everybody should read this book
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By D. Osborn
Format:Hardcover
This author starts from the genius principal that safety is a fundamental civil right. And as such, she examines how we can use concrete, finite metrics to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in ensuring this fundamental right. I'd say she's not just SMART on crime, she's BRILLIANT!
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
One ongoing theme that runs through Smart on Crime is this: meaningful education at all levels of life can affect crime statistics. This applies:
-- to both children and adults
-- to those who have committed crimes and are incarcerated
-- to those who have been released from prison
-- to those people who may consider criminal activity to help them survive
Smart on Crime wants parents, educators, and the law, to keep children in school. More than likely, truancy in neighborhoods where crime is rampant allows children to model what they see on the streets. It may be an act as simple as watching someone shoplift or a more serious offense like stealing a car that inspires a truant child to first steal a candy bar.
So often, truant children learn that crime does pay. Those kids who come from poverty stricken families where drugs have become a way of life, often become runners for druggies to earn money. They easily end up hooked on drugs compounding their problems. Why attend school if a miserable home life can be remedied by "taking" what you want and lifting your spirits with drugs.
As an educator, myself, I can understand Smart on Crime's wish to keep kids in school where they learn skills needed for a promising life based on their talents. But fufilling that desire is not easy. In Pittsburgh's Public Schools, social workers, counselors, and psychologists are so overwhelmed with school duties, they deal with truancy, particularly at the high school level, only when time permits.... Read more ›
-- to both children and adults
-- to those who have committed crimes and are incarcerated
-- to those who have been released from prison
-- to those people who may consider criminal activity to help them survive
Smart on Crime wants parents, educators, and the law, to keep children in school. More than likely, truancy in neighborhoods where crime is rampant allows children to model what they see on the streets. It may be an act as simple as watching someone shoplift or a more serious offense like stealing a car that inspires a truant child to first steal a candy bar.
So often, truant children learn that crime does pay. Those kids who come from poverty stricken families where drugs have become a way of life, often become runners for druggies to earn money. They easily end up hooked on drugs compounding their problems. Why attend school if a miserable home life can be remedied by "taking" what you want and lifting your spirits with drugs.
As an educator, myself, I can understand Smart on Crime's wish to keep kids in school where they learn skills needed for a promising life based on their talents. But fufilling that desire is not easy. In Pittsburgh's Public Schools, social workers, counselors, and psychologists are so overwhelmed with school duties, they deal with truancy, particularly at the high school level, only when time permits.... Read more ›
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Jane Hickie
Format:Hardcover
This book, so clearly and well written, describes a comprehensive and sensible approach for actually reducing crime. Kamala Harris is a non nonsense prosecutor who has thought about how to address the actual causes of crime, as well as appropriate punishments. Everyone who is concerned about the safety of our neighborhoods, now and in the future, needs to read this book and ask our friends in law enforcement and the judiciary to carefully consider her proposals for reform of the criminal justice system.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By S. Wilson
Format:Hardcover
Above and beyond all else, this book is SMART! I can't believe I'm actually reading something from a DEMOCRAT that makes sense, that's smart on crime, particularly one who is acknowledging that we need to take care of serious and violent criminals and there's a lot we need to do with all of the other perps in a way that doesn't break the budget! I'm surprised and impressed!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well Written-Excellent
The story of this book is encouraging information that at least some cities have begun to discover ways to reduce crime in their jurisdictions and lower costs at the same time. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Barnabas
1.0 out of 5 stars
Keeping an Innocent Person In Prison is Smart
I've read Kamala Harris' Smart on Crime and agree this book covers important issues involving America's criminal justice system and where there can be improvements that not only... Read more
Published 7 months ago by The Wooden Funk
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great must have book
This book arrived in great condition. It is a must have for young female attorneys who are trying to make a difference in their world.
Published 13 months ago by MMM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any library strong in justice and crime prevention needs this
SMART ON CRIME: A CAREER PROSECUTOR'S PLAN TO MAKE US SAFER makes a case for changes in crime prevention and justice - changes that will ultimately make the world safer. Read more
Published on February 15, 2010 by Midwest Book Review
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reads well, sounds good, but...
Now, I agree with the other reviewers here that say that this book presents some ideas on Crime fighting- especially truancy- that sound like they make a lot of sense. Read more
Published on December 24, 2009 by Wulfstan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back on Track...straight up.
She really explains how we're just recycling criminals. When are conservatives going to wake up and realize that throwing people in jail for nonviolent crimes is actually making... Read more
Published on November 10, 2009 by C. S. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW THIS MAKES SENSE
It's so refreshing that there's someone in the criminal justice system who is being proactive and understands that we need to stop people from going into jail in the first... Read more
Published on November 5, 2009 by Demetria Espinoza
5.0 out of 5 stars
FANTASTIC!!!
I've only read half the book so far and I could barely put it down long enough to write this review. Read more
Published on November 4, 2009 by iJeffry
