
Making Crime Pay
Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics
Katherine Beckett(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 2. December 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
168 pages
978-0-19-513626-5 (ISBN)
Description
Most Americans are not aware that the US prison population has tripled over the past two decades, nor that the US has the highest rate of incarceration in the industrialized world. Despite these facts, politicians from across the ideological spectrum continue to campaign on "law and order" platforms and to propose "three strikes"--and even "two strikes"--sentencing laws. Why is this the case? How have crime, drugs, and delinquency come to be such salient political issues, and why have enhanced punishment and social control been defined as the most appropriate responses to these complex social problems? Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics provides original, fascinating, and persuasive answers to these questions.
According to conventional wisdom, the worsening of the crime and drug problems has led the public to become more punitive, and "tough" anti-crime policies are politicians' collective response to this popular sentiment. Katherine Beckett challenges this interpretation, arguing instead that the origins of the punitive shift in crime control policy lie in the political rather than the penal realm--particularly in the tumultuous period of the 1960s.
According to conventional wisdom, the worsening of the crime and drug problems has led the public to become more punitive, and "tough" anti-crime policies are politicians' collective response to this popular sentiment. Katherine Beckett challenges this interpretation, arguing instead that the origins of the punitive shift in crime control policy lie in the political rather than the penal realm--particularly in the tumultuous period of the 1960s.
Reviews / Votes
...well-written, sharply focused....provides a useful perspective on an immensely consequential issue. * Choice * ...Beckett does an excellent job deconstructing the politics of crime policy in this country. * The ICCA Review of Books * Beckett immerses herself in the political, social, historical, and discursive context of crime contol in America. The result is an excellent example of how interdisciplinary research can enhance our understanding of complex social phenomena. * Journal of Criminal Justice *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
6 line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
254 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-513626-5 (9780195136265)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/1999
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€36.99
Available for download

E-Book
11/1999
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€36.99
Available for download
Person
Katherine Beckett is Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal JusticeAssistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University
Content
1. Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics ; 2. Setting the Public Agenda ; 3. Creating the Crime Issue ; 4. From Crime to Drugs-and Back Again ; 5. Crime and Drugs in the News ; 6. Crime and Punishment in American Political Culture ; 7. Institutionalizing Law and Order ; 8. Reconceptualizing the Crime Problem