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Letter to the President on Crime Control

1977; Northwestern University School of Law; Volume: 68; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1142593

2160-0325

Peggy Cooper Davis, Norval Morris, Gordon Hawkins,

Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

When considering various alternatives in the selection of readings for an American society course, Letter to the President on Crime Control by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins stood out as a most worthwhile book. Given that the nature of the course was essentially an introduction to criminology, I was in need of a concise overview of some of the key issues in the criminal justice system. This choice seemed to be an excellent one: students reacted well to the provocative outline for legal reform which was presented by the authors. During the presentation of this material class discussion was at its peak. In a restatement and updated version of the earlier Honest Politician's Guide to Crime Control, the authors begin by describing what they feel should be the emphasis of the criminal justice system: protection of our persons and property from violent and predatory crime. Given this tenet as a starting point, they continue to develop an ideal system which they believe will maximize efficiency and equity. The titles of the succeeding chapters demonstrate the issues which the authors deem most salient: gun control, drug abuse, the police, the courts, plea bargaining and sentencing, corrections, and compensation for victims of violent crimes. In a final note, the authors continue to display the relevance of the subjects they selected with a discussion of capital punishment and abortion. The book, which is less than one hundred pages in length, is an ideal supplemental text for courses in introductory sociology, social problems, or criminology. It would seem best suited to a situation where the instructor wished to encourage class participation and discussion, rather than a class which was more oriented toward straight lecture. One suggestion for the use of the book is to divide students in terms of their views on particular issues, and ask them to do some reflecting and/or research which would serve to justify their beliefs. This is a fine method for promoting class debate. Additionally, the book may be seen as an excellent source of research topics for term papers.