The Mythology Of Crime And Criminal Justice

by Kappeler, Victor E.; Potter, Gary W.

• ISBN13: 9781577663584
• ISBN10: 1577663586
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-12
• Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc

Summary

"This innovative alternative to traditional textbooks provides insightful observations of myths and trends in criminal justice. The authors dissect popular images of crimes and criminals in a cogent, compelling, and engaging manner. They confront the misleading statistics and fears that form the basis of myths - and the collateral damage of basing policies on mythical beliefs. The text encourages skepticism about commonly accepted beliefs and provides the tools necessary for critical thinking about complex problems."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

1 The Social Construction of Crime Myths	1	(32)
The Functions of Crime Myths	2	(3)
Powerful Mythmakers	5	(13)
Creating Crime Myths	18	(4)
Characterizations of Crime Myths	22	(4)
Selection and Dissemination of Myths	26	(4)
Conclusion	30	(3)
2 Crime Waves, Fears, and Social Reality	33	(20)
Fears about Crime and Criminals	33	(1)
Facts about Crime and Criminals	34	(2)
Uniform Crime Reports	36	(4)
National Crime Victimization Survey	40	(2)
The Reality of Crime	42	(4)
Crime Images	46	(4)
Conclusion	50	(3)
3 The Myth and Fear of Missing Children	53	(18)
Influences on Public Perception	54	(5)
Exploitation Has Many Faces	59	(1)
Distorted Definitions	60	(1)
Creating Reality through Misleading Statistics	61	(12)
Conclusion	73
4 Myth and Murder: The Serial Killer Panic	71	(26)
Creating a Myth	78	(1)
The Lucas Case	79	(1)
The Reality of Serial Murder	80	(4)
Explaining a Panic	84	(10)
Conclusion	94	(3)
5 Of Stalkers and Murder: Spreading Myth to Common Crime	97	(18)
Constructing the Myth of Stalking	98	(4)
Officializing the Myth	102	(6)
Measuring the Reality of Stalking	108	(2)
Consequences of Criminalization	110	(2)
Conclusion	112	(3)
6 Organized Crime: The Myth of an Underworld Empire	115	(26)
The Alien Conspiracy Myth	118	(7)
Transnational Organized Crime	125	(2)
It's the Economy, Stupid!	127	(2)
The New Businesses of Organized Crime	129	(4)
Challenges to State Sovereignty and Security	133	(1)
State-Organized Crime	134	(4)
Organized Crime in the Twenty-First Century	138	(2)
Controlling Organized Crime	140	(2)
The Utility of Organized Crime	142	(3)
Conclusion	145
7 Corporate Crime and "Higher Immorality"	141
"Real" Corporate Crime	148	(1)
The Costs of Corporate Crime	149	(6)
The Normalcy of Corporate Crime	155	(4)
A Policy of Nonenforcement	159	(4)
The Corporate Crime Wave	163	(3)
The Political Clout of Corporate Criminals	166	(4)
A Criminal Monopoly	170	(2)
Conclusion	172
8 Apocalypse Now: The Lost War on Drugs	115	(100)
Masking the Costs of the Drug War	176	(1)
Myths of Supply Reduction	177	(9)
Casualties of the Drug War	186	(5)
The Intractable Problem of Drugs	191	(16)
A Just Peace?	207	(6)
Conclusion	213	(2)
9 Juvenile Superpredators: The Myths of Killer Kids, Dangerous Schools, and a Youth Crime Wave	215	(20)
The Goals, the Realities, and the Panic	216	(4)
Transforming the Juvenile Justice System	220	(3)
Processing Juvenile Offenders	223	(4)
The Myth of a Juvenile Crime Wave	227	(1)
Dangerous Schools and Violent Students	228	(1)
The Consequences of Treating Juveniles as Adults	229	(4)
Conclusion	233	(2)
10 Battered and Blue Crime Fighters: Myths and Misconceptions of Police Work	235	(28)
Real Police Work	237	(12)
Myths of Police Stress	249	(8)
Living the Crime Fighter Myth	257	(3)
Conclusion	260	(3)
11 Order in the Courts: The Myth of Equal Justice	263	(24)
The Role of Law in Society	264	(3)
Celebrity Cases	267	(2)
The Bias of Arrest	269	(3)
The Bias of Trial	272	(10)
The Bias of Probation and Sentencing	282	(2)
Biased Justice	284	(1)
Conclusion	285	(2)
12 Cons and Country Clubs: The Mythical Utility of Punishment	287	(26)
Who Does the Crime Determines the Time	287	(1)
Mythical Assumptions: Unrelenting Consequences	288	(5)
Behind Bars	293	(2)
The Pains of Imprisonment	295	(7)
The Modern Prison	302	(5)
Post-Institutional Adjustment	307	(3)
Scandinavian Prisons	310	(1)
Conclusion	310	(3)
13 The Myth of a Lenient Criminal Justice System	313	(16)
International Comparison	314	(3)
The Trend Toward Greater Punitiveness in the United States	317	(7)
The Crime Rate in the United States	324	(2)
Conclusion	326	(3)
14 Capital Punishment: The Myth of Murder as Effective Crime Control	329	(28)
Discrimination and the Death Penalty	330	(4)
The Myth of Deterrence	334	(2)
The Myth of Capital Punishment as Cost Effective	336	(3)
The Myth of a Flawless Process	339	(3)
The Myth of Fair and Impartial Juries	342	(5)
The Juvenile Death Penalty	347	(4)
Perpetuating the Myths	351	(3)
Conclusion	354	(3)
15 Merging Myths and Misconceptions of Crime and Justice	357	(16)
Recycled Frameworks	358	(1)
The Electronic Echo Chamber	359	(1)
Of Politics and Demagogues	360	(1)
Fallout from Crime Myths	361	(4)
Unification of the Mythical Order	365	(3)
Masking Social Problems with Myth	368	(2)
Restructuring the Study of Crime	370	(1)
Conclusion	371	(2)
References	373	(34)
Index	407