Addicted to Incarceration: Corrections Policy and the Politics of Misinformation in the United States

by Travis C. Pratt

Overview

In Addicted to Incarceration, author Travis C. Pratt uses an evidence-based approach to explore the consequences of what he terms America′s "addiction to incarceration." Highlighting the scope of the issue, the nature of the political discussions surrounding criminal justice policy in general and corrections policy in particular, and the complex social cost of incarceration, this book takes an incisive look at the approach to corrections in the United States.

 The Second Edition demonstrates that the United States′ addiction to incarceration has been fueled by American citizens′ opinions about crime and punishment, the use of incarceration as a means of social control, and perhaps most important, by policies legitimized by faulty information. Analyzing crime policies as they relate to crime rates and society′s ability to both lower the crime rate and address the role of incarceration in preventing future crime, this book shows students how ineffective the rush to incarcerate has been in the past and offers recommendations and insights to navigate this significant problem going forward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781544308036
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/24/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	129,301
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Travis C. Pratt received his degrees from Clark College, Washington State University (BA, Political Science; MA, Criminal Justice), and the University of Cincinnati (PhD, Criminal Justice). He has served on the faculty of the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University-Newark, was the Director of the Program in Criminal Justice at Washington State University, and a Professor the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. He is currently a Fellow with the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute.

His research and publications focus primarily on structural and integrated theories of crime and delinquency (including macro-level, multilevel, and individual-level approaches to the study of criminal/deviant behavior) and correctional policy (both institutional and community corrections). He has published over 100 articles that have appeared in the leading peer-reviewed journals in the field, including: Crime and Justice: A Review of Research; Criminology; Journal of Youth and Adolescence; Journal of Pediatrics; Journal of Quantitative Criminology; Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency; and, Justice Quarterly. He received the 2006 Ruth Shonle Cavan Outstanding Young Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology for his research and scholarship.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition
New to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
PART I: SETTING THE STAGE
1. Introduction
The Politics and Consequences of Incarceration
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Readings
2. The Politics of Punishment in the United States
Problem Ownership, Punishment Philosophies, and Changes in Corrections Policy Over Time
Political Capital and Getting Tough
The Rise of Evidence-Based Correctional Policy
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Readings
PART II: SOURCES AND DIMENSIONS OF MISINFORMATION
3. Misinformation About the Crime Problem
Victimization and the Fear of Crime
Nonserious Crime as Gateway Offending?
Incapacitation and Errors in Prediction
Summary
Discussion Questions
Notes
Key Readings
4. Misinformation About Public Opinion
Global Versus Specific Attitudes About Punishment
Public Support for Alternative Punishment Philosophies
Summary
Discussion Questions
Notes
Key Readings
5. Misinformation About Prisons and Crime Control
Prisons and Crime Control: The Empirical Evidence
Rethinking Offender Decision Making
Summary
Discussion Questions
Notes
Key Readings
PART III: CONSEQUENCES AND MOVING FORWARD
6. The Social Costs of Incarceration
Consequences of Incarceration for Offenders
Consequences of Incarceration for Families and Children
Consequences of Incarceration for Communities
Consequences of Incarceration for Social Institutions
The Case of Immigration, Crime, and Punishment
Summary
Discussion Questions
Notes
Key Readings
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
The Persistent Addiction
Rethinking Crime Control Policy
Rethinking Corrections Policy
Reconnecting Evidence With Policy
Parting Thoughts: Breaking the Addiction
Discussion Questions
Key Readings
References
About the Author
Index

Editorial Reviews

The text succinctly explains to readers how the United States has become the world’s leader in incarcerating its own people (particularly poor people and people of color) and the grave costs that doing this has and will continue to have on communities throughout this country. Far from being irreversible, the text details what needs to change and sketches out what progressive policymakers, scholars, and concerned people can do about it.

Tim Goddard

I strongly believe that this textbook represents an important and much needed critical discourse on the corrections system. This book is an intellectual and scholarly achievement for advancing the knowledge of both undergraduate and graduate students studying correctional theory, policy, and the legal processes reinforcing the corrections system. This is a user-friendly text that invites the reader to critically examine the controversial and often unmentioned aspects of correctional policy through an active review of the research and scholarly literature.

Sriram Chintakrindi

A great undergraduate criminal justice text that sheds light on the overuse of incarceration as a form of punishment in the United States, strongly supported by empirical evidence.

Caron Jacobson

The book develops an argument about society’s tendency to feed on mass incarceration.

Michelle C. Watkins

This text is an excellent resource to any instructor that wants to engage the curiosity of their students on core correctional topics, while simultaneously not bogging them down with too much information. In particular, this text does a great job at providing the appropriate amount of information that will serve as a catalyst for engaging class discussions on key correctional topics that have and continue to face the United States. There is an appropriate balance of factual evidence with narrative.

Andrew S. Denney

It is a brief text, but provides good information for students and provides nice themes for debate. More books should be like this.

Chad R. Trulson

Few texts are willing to interrogate the phenomena of mass incarceration on such a personal scale.

Ed Bowman

In Addicted to Incarceration, Pratt (2009) skillfully highlights the sources of propaganda that result in the continued overuse of incarceration as the main source of punishment in the United States.

Bright Sarfo

"Excellent supplemental text for my course! Examples are great- very accessible, readable book. "

Adoption Reply Card - Dr. Sue Escobar

"Excellent supplemental text for my course! Examples are great- very accessible, readable book. "

Doctor Adoption Reply Card - Sue Escobar

"Excellent supplemental text for my course! Examples are great- very accessible, readable book. "— Dr. Sue Escobar

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