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The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America Paperback – June 27, 2017

by Barry Latzer (Author)

19 ratings

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A compelling case can be made that violent crime, especially after the 1960s, was one of the most significant domestic issues in the United States. Indeed, few issues had as profound an effect on American life in the last third of the twentieth century. After 1965, crime rose to such levels that it frightened virtually all Americans and prompted significant alterations in everyday behaviors and even lifestyles. The risk of being mugged was a concern when Americans chose places to live and schools for their children, selected commuter routes to work, and planned their leisure activities. In some locales, people were afraid to leave their dwellings at any time, day or night, even to go to the market. In the worst of the post-1960s crime wave, Americans spent part of each day literally looking back over their shoulders.

The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America is the first book to comprehensively examine this important phenomenon over the entire postwar era. It combines a social history of the United States with the insights of criminology and examines the relationship between rising and falling crime and such historical developments as the postwar economic boom, suburbanization and the rise of the middle class, baby booms and busts, war and antiwar protest, the urbanization of minorities, and more.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barry Latzer is Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, and a former member of the Doctoral Faculty in Criminal Justice at the CUNY Graduate School and University Center. He received a JD from Fordham University (1985) and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1977). Professor Latzer has published widely on capital punishment and criminal procedure law. His casebook, Death Penalty Cases (Butterworth-Heinemann 2002), is now in its second edition. He also wrote two books on state constitutional criminal procedure: State Constitutional Criminal Law (Clark, Boardman, Callaghan 1995) and State Constitutions and Criminal Justice (Greenwood Press 1991). Professor Latzer briefly served as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and as appellate counsel for indigent criminal defendants in New York City. He lives in New Jersey.

Product details

Paperback: 424 pages
Publisher: Encounter Books; Reprint edition (June 27, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594039291
ISBN-13: 978-1594039294
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 19 customer ratings
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #839 in Violence in Society (Books)
- #2063 in Criminology (Books)
- #699 in Sociology of Urban Areas

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Customer reviews

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Factual,Informative and Controversial

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016

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This book is a tour de force of solid data on crime in America. The author pulls no punches. Some might consider it "politically incorrect" to so factually discuss the issues involved. His well researched work reminds me of Charles Murrray's work .... factual, informative and controversial.

25 people found this helpful

Comment

The book is easy to read and it is consistently surprising and informative

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2016

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This is a stimulating, well-researched, and provocative book on violent crime in the twentieth century United States. It is particularly valuable and unflinching when examining the fact that certain racial groups commit more crime than others. It must have taken courage to write this. The book is easy to read and it is consistently surprising and informative.

I do, however, want to add some caveats. The author appears to be a conservative and, in my view, has certain biases that lower the quality of the analysis. Here is one major example: the war on drugs. Most economists (as well as many other social scientists) who study crime believe that the prohibition of alcohol and other illicit drugs increases crime. This is so because black markets generate crime, as dealers in illicit drugs are unable to adjudicate disputes through the courts and distributors compete through violent means. This is surely one reason why the prohibition of alcohol increased violent crime in the United States. But, strangely, the book barely mentions this effect of prohibition. And the author never discusses the contemporary war on drugs and the role it plays in creating crime. Instead, the author only focuses on the fact that drug activity causes violence without considering why--namely, that drugs are illegal. For one more on these points, see Jeffrey Miron's work on the economics of drug prohibition.

There are other cases. I'm familiar with the empirical literature on the impact that Mexican immigration has on crime and the broad consensus is that Mexican immigration has few effects on violent crime (property crime is probably a different matter). See, for instance, Aaron Chalfin's "What is the Contribution of Mexican Immigration to U.S. Crime Rates?" But the author insists without real evidence that Mexican immigration does increase violent crime. Why? As far as I can see, the author presents little evidence for this conclusion.

One final surprise is that the author argues that mass incarceration decreased crime, but, in a short sidebar, notes that Canadian crime trends are remarkably similar to American ones (although the absolute levels are different). Yet Canada reduced crime about as well as America without resorting to mass incarceration. But Latzer doesn't explore why this would be or how it may cast doubt on his analysis (I suspect you will find something similar if you compare the US to other affluent countries).

To sum up: this is a good read if you're interested in the evolution of crime. But I do think that the author's biases sometimes lead him to push conclusions without adequate support and consideration of alternative explanations.

38 people found this helpful

Comment

A must read book.

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2016

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Barry Latzer brings a new perspective to the examination of crime and crime statistics. His new book The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime will be the go to book for all interested in discovering which factors drove 1960 crime levels to such heights that people were afraid to leave their homes and then by the end of the 20th century saw crime decrease. Latzer examines demographic trends, migrations from South to North and a criminal justice system overwhelmed by all of these factors. This is a must read book for policy makers, professionals in law enforcement as well as all interested in crime and crime trends.

5 people found this helpful

Comment

John Paul Wright

many will not like Latzer's arguments but is logic rings true and he ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017

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Latzer has crafted a book that challenges the standard narratives about the rise of crime in the United States. Backed by copious data, candid and direct language, and penetrating insights, Latzer's book should be read by anyone interested in understanding crime trends. No, many will not like Latzer's arguments but is logic rings true and he has the data to support his position. I learned much by reading Latzer's book and have grown increasingly convinced that contemporary criminological accounts are intentionally deceptive.

4 people found this helpful

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Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016

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Opened my eyes to a multi-faceted outlook on violent crime in America. A must read for all those interested in law enforcement/criminology in this country.
Backed up with some interesting stats.

9 people found this helpful

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I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to delve into the ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016

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I found the book to be extremely informative. The author really had done his homework and was not averse to backing up his conclusions by citing other experts in the field of criminology. I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to delve into the reasons and trends for violent crime in our country.

6 people found this helpful

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Ryan Terry Bohl

Essential to understanding crime and justice in the 21st century

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016

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Crime is not a matter of merely poverty gone violent, nor cultures gone septic, but something in between. This book demonstrates the essential tale of why American crime functions as it does, and perhaps can move is beyond our binary conversations for the future.

4 people found this helpful

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I have learned a great deal from this book

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2016

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This book offers a lucid and dispassionate account of the history of violent crime in America. Professor Latzer touches on some very sensitive questions, but he examines the evidence impartially. I have learned a great deal from this book.

6 people found this helpful

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