 |
Recommended Books
About Violence and Crime Prevention
|
|
Many people prefer to sit down and read a
book rather than endlessly browse the internet (in fact, very few people read
on the internet - they print it off or move on). Because of the wealth of
excellent non-internet sources, I will be expanding the links to books on all
the StopViolence pages and here.
StopViolence is an
affiliate of Amazon, so you make a contribution by buying any of the
books mentioned on the website (or buy any other books after
clicking through from the site). Find out more in the Help
StopViolence page.
|
Currie’s book, Crime and Punishment in America
is an excellent and thoughtful discussion about our war on crime. He identifies four priorities that are a good start: preventing child abuse and neglect,
enhancing children’s intellectual and social development, providing support and guidance to vulnerable adolescents, and working
intensively with juvenile offenders. While none of these suggestions is a cure-all, he notes that sometimes modest levels of
assistance can make a great difference.
|
|
A more critical approach would be Ian
Taylor's Crime
in Context: A Critical Criminology of Market Societies,
which received the American
Society of Criminology’s Michael Hindelang Award for the
most outstanding book in 2000. Elliot Currie says, “With this
book, Ian Taylor confirms his standing as one of the most thoughtful
students of crime and society writing anywhere in the world today. Crime
in Context is well-reasoned, wide-ranging and important—a
major contribution to our understanding of the ways in which the
enormous social and economic transformations of our time are reshaping
the problems of crime and social order.”
|
50 Ways to a Safer World: Everyday Actions You Can Take to Prevent Violence in Neighborhoods, Schools, and Communities |
|
|
StopViolence is premised on the notion that The tired 'get tough' rhetoric of politicians is not a solution because
violence is not 'caused' by our current sentencing structure. Indeed, the 'get
tough' approach is counter-productive when money to build prisons comes from
cuts in crime prevention funds, community services and education - kind of like mopping
the floor while the tub overflows. Books about our imprisonment binge
and its destructive effects include:
|
|
|
Information
on private prisons from Paul's Justice Page |
|
|
Please stop back for more recommendations. I'll be
slowly expanding this list as I have the time and energy. Remember that
the purchase of books through this website helps to pay for hosting,
domain name registration fees and other expenses. If you're considering
buying a book through Amazon - whether about violence or not - please do
it through the Help StopViolence page.
Thanks.
|
