E-Book Overview
Each year 24 million Americans are victims of crime. U.S. taxpayers spend more and more each year on police, prisons and judges—a record $200 billion at last count. They incarcerate more and more persons each year—two million plus. Yet prestigious commissions show not only that this standard way of responding to crime is ineffective but that there is scientific proof that many projects that tackle risk factors that cause crime are effective. Rather than sending more people to jail or hiring more and more police, the author, and the research, shows that addressing problems in the community does more to prevent crime. This timely book illustrates in convincing detail what needs to be done to prevent crime and keep people out of prison.Here, Waller shows that hiring public health nurses and investing in helping youth at risk to complete school and get job training is better than hiring more police; preventing family violence, banning hand guns and dealing with drugs through public health saves more lives than incarceration; getting close neighbors to watch out for us and better industrial design are more effective than criminal courts; smarter policing is better than more police; paying for services to support victims and guaranteeing them rights is better than more rhetoric. Addressing the social issues that lead to crime, rather than addressing crime after it happens, or putting stiffer penalties in place, will contribute to creating a safer society and to keeping kids and adults from taking the wrong path toward a life of crime.
E-Book Content
LESS LAW, MORE ORDER: The Truth about Reducing Crime
IRVIN WALLER
PRAEGER
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Waller/C9077
July 24, 2006
LESS LAW, MORE ORDER The Truth about Reducing Crime
IRVIN WALLER
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Waller/C9077
July 24, 2006
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Waller, Irvin. Less law, more order : the truth about reducing crime / Irvin Waller. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–275–99077–X (alk. paper) 1. Crime—Government policy—United States. 2. Crime prevention— United States. 3. Criminal justice, Administration of—United States. I. Title. HV6789.W313 2006 364.40973—dc22 2006015428 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. c 2006 by Irvin Waller Copyright
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006015428 ISBN: 0–275–99077–X First published in 2006 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Figures
vii
Acknowledgments
ix
Introduction: Truth and Sense, Not Giuliani
xi
Abbreviations 1 Tough on Crime Is Tough on Us
xxi 1
2 Pay to Keep Kids from Crime, Not behind Bars
21
3 Outlaw Violence, Not Men
37
4 Watch Out for Your Own Where Needed
53
5 Police Smarter, Not More
67
6 Guarantee Justice and Support for Crime Victims
85
7 Make Cities Tough on Causes
103
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CONTENTS
8 Shift from “Pay for Law” to “Invest in Order”
119
9 Conclusion: Bust Causes, Not Budgets