Henry Pontell convincingly demonstrates that despite the expenditure of millions of dollars, the enactment of many new laws exacting harsher punishments, and the growth of a vast criminal justice system, America is losing its "war on crime." By focusing on deterrence through punishment meted out by our criminal justice system, our courts receive more cases than they can handle, and our prisons and jails overflow with inmates. The message from a beleaguered criminal justice system, according to the author, is clear: there is limited capacity to punish. Pontell suggests that the first step toward solving the crime problem is to stop perceiving it-and using it-as a political issue and to begin to approach it from a reasoned, scientific, humane methodology.
- ISBN10 0253313090
- ISBN13 9780253313096
- Publish Date 1 January 1984
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 18 May 2000
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Indiana University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 160
- Language English