Overview

An important understanding of the role public opinion plays in crime prevention policy ""Defund the police.” This slogan became a rallying cry among Black Lives Matter protesters following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. These three words evoke a fundamental question about America’s policy priorities: should the nation rely predominantly upon the branches of the criminal justice system to arrest, prosecute, and imprison offenders, or should the nation prioritize fixing structural causes of crime by investing more heavily in the infrastructure and institutions of disadvantaged communities? To put it simply, do Americans actually prefer punishment over crime prevention? The Politics of Crime Prevention examines American public opinion about crime prevention in the twenty-first century with a particular focus on how average citizens would choose to prioritize resources between the criminal justice system and community-based institutions. Kevin H. Wozniak analyzes differences of opinion across lines of race, social class, and political partisanship, and investigates whether people’s willingness to invest in communities depends upon the kind of communities that would receive money. This book moves beyond criminologists’ typical focus on public opinion about punishment that follows acts of crime to instead examine public attitudes toward crime prevention. In this brilliant and compelling study, Wozniak reveals that politicians profoundly underestimate the American public’s desire to prioritize community investment and that it is long past time to help communities thrive instead of turning to the criminal justice system to respond to every social problem.

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9781479815753

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Reviews

The United States sits at a correctional turning point, with a half-century of mass imprisonment now revealed to be a misguided policy failure. To know what next steps are possible, listen to Kevin Wozniak. Based on primary data and an expansive mastery of the research literature, he shows that the American public aspires to more than a punitive, lock 'em up response to crime. He presents strong empirical evidence that the citizenry favors community investment over criminal justice investment. Public opinion thus is a potential resource for needed progressive reform. Americans believe that a safer society depends on having a better society for all--a salient message that politicians need to hear and act upon.-- Francis T. Cullen, co-author of Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences The Politics of Crime Prevention counters the view that investments in the carceral state reflect the will of the people. Using original carefully crafted research, Wozniak argues that the majority of Black and White Americans support community investment to prevent crime. Accessibly written, The Politics of Crime Prevention provides a road map for those who want public safety without more police and prisons.-- Heather Schoenfeld, author of Building the Prison State: Race and the Politics of Mass Incarceration Three words, relatively new to the English lexicon-- Defund the police (DTP)--can conjure up drastically different images in the minds of Americans. To some, it represents the only strategy forward to address systemic racism, lethal police violence, and long-standing racial and social inequity. To others, the same three words are an affront to justice, social order, and the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives to ensure public safety. In The Politics of Crime Prevention Dr. Kevin H. Wozniak demonstrates that despite these disparate images and distortions, at its heart, the true emphasis of DTP, is not as polarizing as we might think. As the author argues, it is a story of community reinvestment rather than community division. Drawing on a careful and nuanced analysis of public attitudes, Wozniak draws our attention to two key takeaways concerning current crime and justice debates: 1) American public opinion is not unilaterally punitive, in that most Americans are not the get tough enthusiasts some politicians and pundits would have us believe, and 2) most citizens recognize that crime prevention begins much sooner than sanctioning, as a large swath of the public strongly favors front-end community investment efforts to ensure public safety (public school funding, job creation program). The author argues that it is high-time policymakers listened to these sentiments, and it is difficult not to agree. This book will appeal to many audiences--academics and researchers, public policy administrators, public safety professionals, students, and anyone desiring a deeper understanding of public attitudes toward crime, punishment, and community investment.-- Christina Mancini, author of Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society: A Critical Look at Sexual Offending and Policy

The United States sits at a correctional turning point, with a half-century of mass imprisonment now revealed to be a misguided policy failure. To know what next steps are possible, listen to Kevin Wozniak. Based on primary data and an expansive mastery of the research literature, he shows that the American public aspires to more than a punitive, lock ’em up response to crime. He presents strong empirical evidence that the citizenry favors community investment over criminal justice investment. Public opinion thus is a potential resource for needed progressive reform. Americans believe that a safer society depends on having a better society for all—a salient message that politicians need to hear and act upon. * Francis T. Cullen, co-author of Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences * Three words, relatively new to the English lexicon--“Defund the police” (DTP)—can conjure up drastically different images in the minds of Americans. To some, it represents the only strategy forward to address systemic racism, lethal police violence, and long-standing racial and social inequity. To others, the same three words are an affront to justice, social order, and the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives to ensure public safety. In The Politics of Crime Prevention Dr. Kevin H. Wozniak demonstrates that despite these disparate images and distortions, at its heart, the true emphasis of DTP, is not as polarizing as we might think. As the author argues, it is a story of community reinvestment rather than community division. Drawing on a careful and nuanced analysis of public attitudes, Wozniak draws our attention to two key takeaways concerning current crime and justice debates: 1) American public opinion is not unilaterally punitive, in that most Americans are not the “get tough” enthusiasts some politicians and pundits would have us believe, and 2) most citizens recognize that crime prevention begins much sooner than sanctioning, as a large swath of the public strongly favors “front-end” community investment efforts to ensure public safety (public school funding, job creation program). The author argues that it is high-time policymakers listened to these sentiments, and it is difficult not to agree. This book will appeal to many audiences—academics and researchers, public policy administrators, public safety professionals, students, and anyone desiring a deeper understanding of public attitudes toward crime, punishment, and community investment. * Christina Mancini, author of Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society: A Critical Look at Sexual Offending and Policy * The Politics of Crime Prevention counters the view that investments in the carceral state reflect the “will of the people.” Using original carefully crafted research, Wozniak argues that the majority of Black and White Americans support community investment to prevent crime. Accessibly written, The Politics of Crime Prevention provides a road map for those who want public safety without more police and prisons. * Heather Schoenfeld, author of Building the Prison State: Race and the Politics of Mass Incarceration * Overall, both academic scholars and researchers who conduct public opinion and public policy research related to crime and criminal justice and community members who are interested in understanding more about the crime issue will find the content in the book helpful and easy to follow. * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books * Wozniak examines US public opinion about crime prevention, with a focus on how average citizens would choose to prioritize resources between the criminal justice system and community-based institutions. * Law & Social Inquiry *

The United States sits at a correctional turning point, with a half-century of mass imprisonment now revealed to be a misguided policy failure. To know what next steps are possible, listen to Kevin Wozniak. Based on primary data and an expansive mastery of the research literature, he shows that the American public aspires to more than a punitive, lock 'em up response to crime. He presents strong empirical evidence that the citizenry favors community investment over criminal justice investment. Public opinion thus is a potential resource for needed progressive reform. Americans believe that a safer society depends on having a better society for all-a salient message that politicians need to hear and act upon. * Francis T. Cullen, co-author of Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences * Three words, relatively new to the English lexicon-- Defund the police (DTP)-can conjure up drastically different images in the minds of Americans. To some, it represents the only strategy forward to address systemic racism, lethal police violence, and long-standing racial and social inequity. To others, the same three words are an affront to justice, social order, and the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives to ensure public safety. In The Politics of Crime Prevention Dr. Kevin H. Wozniak demonstrates that despite these disparate images and distortions, at its heart, the true emphasis of DTP, is not as polarizing as we might think. As the author argues, it is a story of community reinvestment rather than community division. Drawing on a careful and nuanced analysis of public attitudes, Wozniak draws our attention to two key takeaways concerning current crime and justice debates: 1) American public opinion is not unilaterally punitive, in that most Americans are not the get tough enthusiasts some politicians and pundits would have us believe, and 2) most citizens recognize that crime prevention begins much sooner than sanctioning, as a large swath of the public strongly favors front-end community investment efforts to ensure public safety (public school funding, job creation program). The author argues that it is high-time policymakers listened to these sentiments, and it is difficult not to agree. This book will appeal to many audiences-academics and researchers, public policy administrators, public safety professionals, students, and anyone desiring a deeper understanding of public attitudes toward crime, punishment, and community investment. * Christina Mancini, author of Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society: A Critical Look at Sexual Offending and Policy * The Politics of Crime Prevention counters the view that investments in the carceral state reflect the will of the people. Using original carefully crafted research, Wozniak argues that the majority of Black and White Americans support community investment to prevent crime. Accessibly written, The Politics of Crime Prevention provides a road map for those who want public safety without more police and prisons. * Heather Schoenfeld, author of Building the Prison State: Race and the Politics of Mass Incarceration *

Author Information

Kevin H. Wozniak is Lecturer in the School of Law and Criminology at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. He is the co-author of Thugs and Thieves: The Differential Etiology of Violence. Formerly, he was Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

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