The Mythology Of Crime And Criminal Justice

"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.

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

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The Mythology Of Crime And Criminal Justice

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials