The mythology of crime and criminal justice
| Main Author: | Kappeler, Victor E. |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | Potter, Gary W. |
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Long Grove, Ill. :
Waveland Press,
[2005]
|
| Physical Description: |
xi, 428 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. |
| Edition: | 4th ed. |
| Subjects: |
Table of Contents:
- 1. The social construction of crime myths
- The functions of crime myths
- Powerful mythmakers
- Creating crime myths
- Characterizations of crime myths
- Selection and dissemination of myths
- Conclusion
- 2. Crime waves, fears, and social reality
- Fears about crime and criminals
- Facts about crime and criminals
- Uniform Crime Reports
- National crime victimization survey
- The reality of crime
- Crime images
- Conclusion
- 3. The myth and fear of missing children
- Influences on public perception
- Exploitation has many faces
- Distorted definitions
- Creating reality through misleading statistics
- Conclusion
- 4. Myth and murder : the serial killer panic
- Creating a myth
- The Lucas case
- The reality of serial murder
- Explaining a panic
- Conclusion
- 5. Of stalkers and murder : spreading myth to common crime
- Constructing the myth of stalking
- Officializing the myth
- Measuring the reality of stalking
- Consequences of criminalization
- Conclusion
- 6. Organized crime : the myth of an underworld empire
- The alien conspiracy myth
- Transnational organized crime
- It's the economy, stupid!
- The new businesses of organized crime
- Challenges to state sovereignty and security
- State-organized crime
- Organized crime in the twenty-first century
- Controlling organized crime
- The utility of organized crime
- Conclusion
- 7. Corporate crime and "higher immorality"
- "Real" corporate crime
- The costs of corporate crime
- The normalcy of corporate crime
- A policy of nonenforcement
- The corporate crime wave
- The political clout of corporate criminals
- A criminal monopoly
- Conclusion
- 8. Apocalypse now : the lost war on drugs
- Masking the costs of the drug war
- Myths of supply reduction
- Casualties of the drug war
- The intractable problem of drugs
- A just peace?
- Conclusion.
- 9. Juvenile superpredators : the myths of killer kids, dangerous schools, and a youth crime wave
- The goals, the realities, and the panic
- Transforming the juvenile justice system
- Processing juvenile offenders
- The myth of a juvenile crime wave
- Dangerous schools and violent students
- The consequences of treating juveniles as adults
- Conclusion
- 10. Battered and blue crime fighters : myths and misconceptions of police work
- Real police work
- Myths of police stress
- Living the crime fighter myth
- Conclusion
- 11. Order in the courts : the myth of equal justice
- The role of law in society
- Celebrity cases
- The bias of arrest
- The bias of trial
- The bias of probation and sentencing
- Biased justice
- Conclusion
- 12. Cons and country clubs : the mythical utility of punishment
- Who does the crime determines the time
- Mythical assumptions : unrelenting consequences
- Behind bars
- The pains of imprisonment
- The modern prison
- Post-institutional adjustment
- Scandinavian prisons
- Conclusion
- 13. The myth of a lenient criminal justice system
- International comparison
- The trend toward greater punitiveness in the United States
- The crime rate in the United States
- Conclusion
- 14. Capital punishment : the myth of murder as effective crime control
- Discrimination and the death penalty
- The myth of deterrence
- The myth of capital punishment as cost effective
- The myth of a flawless process
- The myth of fair and impartial juries
- The juvenile death penalty
- Perpetuating the myths
- Conclusion
- 15. Merging myths and misconceptions of crime and justice
- Recycled frameworks
- The electronic echo chamber
- Of politics and demagogues
- Fallout from crime myths
- Unification of the mythical order
- Masking social problems with myth
- Restructuring the study of crime
- Conclusion.