Imprisoning Communities
Subtitle: how mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse
By: Todd R. Clear
Series: Studies in crime and public policy; Studies in crime and public policy
Published: 2009
Language: eng
Number of pages: 255
ISBN-13: 9780195387209
Subjects: Social aspects; 71.65 criminality as a social problem; Imprisonment; Crime; Social problems; Urban poor; Underdeveloped areas; Community-based corrections
Description: This volume maintains that current incarceration policy in urban America does more harm than good, from increasing crime to widening racial disparities and diminished life chances for youths. The author argues that we cannot overcome the problem of mass incarceration concentrated in poor places without incorporating an idea of community justice into our failing correctional and criminal justice systems. He demonstrates that high doses of incarceration contribute to the very social problems it is intended to solve: it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and parents of emotional and financial support; and threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods. Especially at risk are children who are more likely to commit a crime if a father or brother has been to prison. The author maintains that when incarceration occurs at high levels, crime rates will go up; having exactly the opposite of its intended effect: it destabilizes the community, thus further reducing public safety.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-247) and index.
Table of contents: title: The Problem of concentrated incarceration --; title: Incarceration and crime --; title: The Problem of mass incarceration concentrated in poor places --; title: Communities, coercive mobility, and public safety --; title: Death by a thousand little cuts: studies of the impact of incarceration --; title: In their own voices: people in high-incarceration communities talk about the impact of incarceration --; title: The Impact of incarceration on community safety --; title: Dealing with concentrated incarceration: the case for community justice -- -- Appendix:; title: Imagining a strategy of community justice ---- Bibliography-- Index.