Crime & Politics

Big Government's Erratic Campaign for Law and Order

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Current Events, Political Science, Government, Local Government, Reference & Language, Law, Criminal law
Cover of the book Crime & Politics by Ted Gest, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ted Gest ISBN: 9780190290139
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: August 7, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Ted Gest
ISBN: 9780190290139
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: August 7, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Why has America experienced an explosion in crime rates since 1960? Why has the crime rate dropped in recent years? Though politicians are always ready both to take the credit for crime reduction and to exploit grisly headlines for short-term political gain, these questions remain among the most important-and most difficult to answer-in America today. In Crime & Politics, award-winning journalist Ted Gest gives readers the inside story of how crime policy is formulated inside the Washington beltway and state capitols, why we've had cycle after cycle of ineffective federal legislation, and where promising reforms might lead us in the future. Gest examines how politicians first made crime a national rather than a local issue, beginning with Lyndon Johnson's crime commission and the landmark anti-crime law of 1968 and continuing right up to such present-day measures as "three strikes" laws, mandatory sentencing, and community policing. Gest exposes a lack of consistent leadership, backroom partisan politics, and the rush to embrace simplistic solutions as the main causes for why Federal and state crime programs have failed to make our streets safe. But he also explores how the media aid and abet this trend by featuring lurid crimes that simultaneously frighten the public and encourage candidates to offer another round of quick-fix solutions. Drawing on extensive research and including interviews with Edwin Meese, Janet Reno, Joseph Biden, Ted Kennedy, and William Webster, Crime & Politics uncovers the real reasons why America continues to struggle with the crime problem and shows how we do a better job in the future.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Why has America experienced an explosion in crime rates since 1960? Why has the crime rate dropped in recent years? Though politicians are always ready both to take the credit for crime reduction and to exploit grisly headlines for short-term political gain, these questions remain among the most important-and most difficult to answer-in America today. In Crime & Politics, award-winning journalist Ted Gest gives readers the inside story of how crime policy is formulated inside the Washington beltway and state capitols, why we've had cycle after cycle of ineffective federal legislation, and where promising reforms might lead us in the future. Gest examines how politicians first made crime a national rather than a local issue, beginning with Lyndon Johnson's crime commission and the landmark anti-crime law of 1968 and continuing right up to such present-day measures as "three strikes" laws, mandatory sentencing, and community policing. Gest exposes a lack of consistent leadership, backroom partisan politics, and the rush to embrace simplistic solutions as the main causes for why Federal and state crime programs have failed to make our streets safe. But he also explores how the media aid and abet this trend by featuring lurid crimes that simultaneously frighten the public and encourage candidates to offer another round of quick-fix solutions. Drawing on extensive research and including interviews with Edwin Meese, Janet Reno, Joseph Biden, Ted Kennedy, and William Webster, Crime & Politics uncovers the real reasons why America continues to struggle with the crime problem and shows how we do a better job in the future.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The First of Men by Ted Gest
Cover of the book The Ethics of Care by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Input, Interaction and Corrective Feedback in L2 Learning - Oxford Applied Linguistics by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Forgotten Families by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Sacred Pain by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Rethinking Reich by Ted Gest
Cover of the book The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Reconstructing American Legal Realism & Rethinking Private Law Theory by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Holocaust, Genocide, and the Law by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Diaspora of the Gods by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Integrative Oncology by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Politics at Work by Ted Gest
Cover of the book A Just Zionism by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Why We Need Religion by Ted Gest
Cover of the book Agrarian Landscapes in Transition by Ted Gest
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy