Anderson, an ex-member of the New York Times editorial board, has written two books on crime, most recently, Crime and the Politics of Hysteria: How the Willie Horton Case Changed American Justice (1995). Now he takes on "alternative sanctions": a range of probation-based supervision and rehabilitation programs involving no time in prison. Sensible Justice sketches these options in ascending order of severity, from community service, day reporting, and drug and sex offender treatment to residential restitution and boot camps, describing jurisdictions around the country that have used each well, closing with the work done in Maricopa County, Arizona, to construct a "ladder" of pre-prison sanctions. "Laddered" sanctions, Anderson cautions, demand thoughtful planning, "adequate funding and human resources, and . . . the support of public officials who believe in the need for them." He stresses that "recidivism shouldn't be the only measure of success," programs must be large to produce notable improvements, and directors must be flexible to deal with "the perverse complexities of social policy planning." Solid reporting on a vital subject. Mary Carroll
Review
Sensible Justice makes an important contribution to developing an effective national crime strategy. -- The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Barry Krisberg
Solid reporting on a vital subject. -- Booklist
[David Anderson] explodes a number of myths about alternative sentencing and concludes that a well-designed program can offer modest savings at no extra risk to the public. -- National Law Journal
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