When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Hardcover)

~ Mark A. R. Kleiman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

One way to make apprehension and punishment more likely is to spend substantially more money on law enforcement. In a time of chronic budget shortfalls, however, that won't happen. But Mr. Kleiman suggests that smarter enforcement strategies can make existing budgets go further. The important step, he says, is to view enforcement as a dynamic game in which strategically chosen deterrence policies become self-reinforcing. . . . It is an ingenious idea that borrows from game theory and the economics of signaling behavior. . . . Revolutionary.
(Robert H. Frank New York Times )

Absolutely buy this book and dedicate some time to it. . . . This is the most important social science book I've read in many years.
(Reihan Salam Bloggingheads.tv )

Kleiman's recommendations appear to work. If they do, every community should be considering how to apply them. The current ways, the tough-sounding sentences, the random zero-tolerance, the throw 'em-in-jail-and-throw-away-the-key approach, feels right. But maybe it's wrong.
(Royal Oak Daily Tribune )

Review

For two decades, Mark Kleiman has tried to rescue community corrections from its own incompetence as well as from its critics. In When Brute Force Fails he extends his reach to develop a more sensible system of criminal justice. The book is imaginative, thorough, and readable. It will make a difference in public policy.
(Peter Reuter, University of Maryland )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691142084
• ISBN-13: 978-0691142081
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,594 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, evidence-based analysis of America's crime and punishment problem, September 30, 2009

By	Matthew R. Sleeter (Overland Park, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Professor Kleiman employs psychology, economics, game theory, and real-world examples to explain why harsher punishments are often less effective at controlling the behavior of criminals than targeted, swift and certain punishments. He persuasively argues that we can significantly reduce crime and punishment (particularly punishment of the prison incarceration variety) by focusing enforcement resources to make the threat of getting caught and going to jail a real threat thereby reducing the costs on society of crime, punishment, and the steps taken by law-abiding citizens to protect themselves from crime. A thoroughly enlightening read, When Brute Force Fails forced me to think about the costs to society crime causes in a way I had never considered before (the price you pay for gas at the pump would likely be less if you didn't have to drive to your job from your home in the suburbs every day. A home you likely own because it is too dangerous to live in the city and the crumbling infrastructure is no place you want to raise your children.) A must read for policy makers and concerned citizens alike.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read - Smart Drug and Crime Policies Made Crystal Clear, August 29, 2009

By	Greenwich Village Conservative "RJB" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This book provides a rare service to anyone interested in our country developing effective and fair criminal justice and drug policies. Mark Kleiman brings together not only his own lifetime's work in research in a highly accessible fashion, but also pulls together the best ideas from other leading thinkers. At all times this book points towards what can and must be done. He gently pushes aside ideological arguments and lays out a realistic path to reducing crime, drug use, and costly incarceration at the same time. His comments on how to better manage the 5 million Americans in probation or parole to help them reduce their drug use and their criminal activity is along worth getting the book. The information on what Hawaii has done through the HOPE probation program, by instituting certain but brief punishments (say a weekend in jail for one dirty drug test) is truly amazing, since many of these offenders were former heavy methamphetamine users. But in Hawaii the right mix of smart policies, properly administered, quickly transformed the behavior of most of the probationers. "When Brute Force Fails" is an instant classic and a must read.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relief from Polarizing Rhetoric, September 2, 2009

By	Miriam Tawil - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is smart, cogent, and, lucid enough for the general public as well as the politicians and policy makers who must be reading it. What a pleasure to find clear headed good ideas instead of the usual pandering to our most extreme wishes or fears.