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OverviewThe American prison system has grown tenfold since the 1970s, but crime rates in the United States have not decreased. Michael J. Lynch, a critical criminologist, argues that our oversized prison system is a product of our consumer culture, the publics inaccurate beliefs about controlling crime, and the governments criminalizing of the poor. While deterrence and incapacitation theories suggest that imprisoning more criminals and punishing them leads to a reduction in crime, case studies, such as one focusing on the New York City jail system between 1993 and 2003, show that a reduction in crime is unrelated to the size of jail populations. Although we are locking away more people, Lynch explains that we are not targeting the worst offenders. Prison populations are comprised of the poor, and many are incarcerated for relatively minor robberies and violence. Americas prison expansion focused on this group to the exclusion of corporate and white collar offenders who create hazardous workplace and environmental conditions that lead to deaths and injuries, and enormous economic crimes. If America truly wants to reduce crime, Lynch urges readers to rethink cultural values that equate bigger with better. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Michael J LynchPublisher: Rutgers University Press Imprint: Rutgers University Press ISBN: 9786611151355ISBN 10: 6611151354 Pages: 259 Publication Date: 31 August 2007 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Electronic book text Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationTab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |