When Brute Force Fails

Relying only on "brute force" approaches to crime control in the United States, argues Kleiman (public policy, U. of California at Los Angeles), has simply led to a massive incarceration problem being added to the crime problem. He calls for rethinking crime control as an ordinary domestic-policy problem that would focus on consequences and would thus begin with asking how to limit the damage of crime with as little cost as possible in money spent and suffering inflicted. Such an approach would favor swift and certain punishment over severity and would lead to the rejection of so-called "zero tolerance" policies, which cause sporadic and delayed punishments in the futile effort to control everything and everyone. Concentration of resources and the direct communication of deterrent threats to likely offenders would bolster swiftness and certainty and help "tip" high-violation situations towards low-violation equilibriums. This approach should be applied to the general criminal justice systems well as community corrections systems of parole and probation. After laying out this argument, he looks at the strategies his approach would indicate, particularly in the areas of gun control and drug policy. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Mark A. R. Kleiman is professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results and Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control.