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After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction
Since the 1970s, Americans have witnessed a pyrrhic war on crime, with sobering numbers at once chilling and cautionary. Our imprisoned population has increased five-fold, with a commensurate spike in fiscal costs that many now see as unsupportable into the future. As American society confronts a multitude of new challenges ranging from terrorism to the disappearance of middle-class jobs to global warming, the war on crime may be up for reconsideration for the first time in a generation or more. Relatively low crime rates indicate that the public mood may be swinging toward declaring victory and moving on.
However, to declare that the war is over is dangerous and inaccurate, and After the War on Crime reveals that the impact of this war reaches far beyond statistics; simply moving on is impossible. The war has been most devastating to those affected by increased rates and longer terms of incarceration, but its reach has also reshaped a sweeping range of social institutions, including law enforcement, politics, schooling, healthcare, and social welfare. The war has also profoundly altered conceptions of race and community.
It is time to consider the tasks reconstruction must tackle. To do so requires first a critical assessment of how this war has remade our society, and then creative thinking about how government, foundations, communities, and activists should respond. After the War on Crime accelerates this reassessment with original essays by a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars as well as policy professionals and community activists. The volume's immediate goal is to spark a fresh conversation about the war on crime and its consequences; its long-term aspiration is to develop a clear understanding of how we got here and of where we should go.
However, to declare that the war is over is dangerous and inaccurate, and After the War on Crime reveals that the impact of this war reaches far beyond statistics; simply moving on is impossible. The war has been most devastating to those affected by increased rates and longer terms of incarceration, but its reach has also reshaped a sweeping range of social institutions, including law enforcement, politics, schooling, healthcare, and social welfare. The war has also profoundly altered conceptions of race and community.
It is time to consider the tasks reconstruction must tackle. To do so requires first a critical assessment of how this war has remade our society, and then creative thinking about how government, foundations, communities, and activists should respond. After the War on Crime accelerates this reassessment with original essays by a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars as well as policy professionals and community activists. The volume's immediate goal is to spark a fresh conversation about the war on crime and its consequences; its long-term aspiration is to develop a clear understanding of how we got here and of where we should go.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 3, 2018
Now ten years old, but as relevant as ever, After the War on Crime is an edited compilation of essays on crime and the justice system written with complementary focuses and from overlapping angles. A few of the contributions were standouts, including Todd Clear's "The Great Penal Experiment," structured around four counterintuitive lessons on prison growth and the prison-community relationship. Hint: there's less of a relationship between new prison construction and crime rates than politicians would have you believe. Mona Lynch's "The Contemporary Penal Subject(s)" historicizes contemporary attitudes on criminality and redemption. Before the 1960s, criminal justice centered on rehabilitation and preparing criminals for post-release life. Societal views have greatly shifted towards a deviance view of criminal activity that tacitly believes in the innate evil of the criminal, therefore justifying increasingly punitive anti-crime measures and the slashing of resources for rehabilitation, library, and prison education programs.
Beckett and Herbert's essay revisits Stanley Cohen's 1979 paper also titled "The Punitive City," and is an illuminating read for city-dwellers who complain about the "blight" of homelessness in parks and on sidewalks. Their piece concentrates on Seattle and highlights the new social control tactics adopted by the law to criminalize everyday life through "off-limits" orders that disproportionately penalize people of color and the poor. This generates a pipeline of offenders in the name of social control, and increasingly renders parts of the city as no-go zones for prior offenders.
Van Jones' closing essay is fantastic for sending us back to a much-needed 45,000 foot aerial view. Through witnessing the militarization of local police in service of anti-terrorism, we better see that the war on drugs was the same pursuit in controlling communities of color and halting the integration and equalization that should have arisen from civil rights successes. Now the targets of our law enforcement are simply a different skin tone.
But is this making us any safer? He demands that the professional incarcerators provide proof that they improve public safety more through mass imprisonment than through education, counselors, after-school programs, job training, and social safety programs, because these are all budgetarily robbed to build prisons and lock up our poor.
Beckett and Herbert's essay revisits Stanley Cohen's 1979 paper also titled "The Punitive City," and is an illuminating read for city-dwellers who complain about the "blight" of homelessness in parks and on sidewalks. Their piece concentrates on Seattle and highlights the new social control tactics adopted by the law to criminalize everyday life through "off-limits" orders that disproportionately penalize people of color and the poor. This generates a pipeline of offenders in the name of social control, and increasingly renders parts of the city as no-go zones for prior offenders.
Van Jones' closing essay is fantastic for sending us back to a much-needed 45,000 foot aerial view. Through witnessing the militarization of local police in service of anti-terrorism, we better see that the war on drugs was the same pursuit in controlling communities of color and halting the integration and equalization that should have arisen from civil rights successes. Now the targets of our law enforcement are simply a different skin tone.
But is this making us any safer? He demands that the professional incarcerators provide proof that they improve public safety more through mass imprisonment than through education, counselors, after-school programs, job training, and social safety programs, because these are all budgetarily robbed to build prisons and lock up our poor.
June 7, 2026
Book Review: After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction
Disclaimer: I was provided an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. This provision has in no way affected the content, objectivity, or critical analysis of this review.
The full review is available here: https://prairiefoxreads.blogspot.com/...
Publication and Context
Title: After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction
Editors: Mary Louise Frampton, Jonathan Simon, Ian F. Haney-López
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Page Count: 256 pages
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Non-Fiction / Criminology / Sociology / Political Science
Target Audience: Academics, policy professionals, community activists, and readers interested in criminal justice reform, sociology, and American political history.
Contextual Backdrop:
Published in 2008, this volume addresses the socio-political landscape of the United States following decades of a “war on crime” that began in the 1970s. The book was released during a period when the American public and policymakers were confronting a multitude of intersecting challenges, including the economic implications of a disappearing middle class, global warming, and post-9/11 counter-terrorism efforts, prompting a societal shift in focus away from domestic crime rates.
Purpose and Thesis of the Work
According to the editors, the immediate goal of the book is to spark a fresh, critical conversation about the consequences of the war on crime. The overarching thesis asserts that simply declaring “victory” due to relatively low crime rates and moving on is both dangerous and inaccurate. Instead, the editors argue that the United States must engage in a deliberate process of “reconstruction” to address the profound, systemic damage inflicted by decades of aggressive penal policies.
Summary of the Work
After the War on Crime examines the domestic policies implemented since the 1970s, which resulted in a five-fold increase in the American imprisoned population and commensurate, unsustainable fiscal costs. The text highlights that the consequences of these policies extend far beyond basic incarceration statistics.
The collection of essays demonstrates how the war on crime has reshaped major American social institutions, specifically identifying impacts on law enforcement, politics, schooling, healthcare, and social welfare. Furthermore, the book explores how these policies have deeply altered societal conceptions of race and community, disproportionately devastating specific populations through increased rates and longer terms of incarceration.
Analysis and Evaluation
Contributors and Perspectives
To achieve its goals, the book utilizes a multidisciplinary approach. Rather than relying on a single authorial voice, the editors have curated original essays from a diverse group. This coalition includes:
Interdisciplinary academic scholars
Policy professionals
Community activists
Structure and Argumentation
The structural methodology of the book is divided into two primary tasks required for societal reconstruction:
Critical Assessment: The first half of the argumentation focuses on diagnosing the problem, providing a critical evaluation of exactly how the war on crime has systematically remade American society.
Creative Response: The latter portion transitions from assessment to actionable strategy, offering creative thinking on how various sectors—specifically government, foundations, communities, and activists—should respond to these institutional changes.
Evidence and Scope
The scope of the text is macro-sociological. It frames the war on crime not merely as a localized legal issue, but as a systemic force that has fundamentally altered the infrastructure of American democracy and social welfare systems.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths: The primary factual strength of the book is its holistic, systemic view of criminal justice. By including voices outside of traditional academia (such as community activists and policy professionals), the volume attempts to bridge the gap between theoretical sociology and on-the-ground civic action.
Limitations: As a factual limitation, the book was published in 2008. Therefore, its data and immediate policy recommendations reflect the landscape prior to subsequent major developments in criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement, and post-2008 economic shifts.
Contextual Analysis and Comparisons
Historical and Social Context
The book captures a specific historical pivot point. By 2008, crime rates had dropped significantly from their peaks in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The text directly addresses the resulting public complacency, warning that the underlying institutional changes brought about by mass incarceration—particularly regarding race and democracy—remain deeply embedded in the American system regardless of fluctuating crime statistics.
Suitability and Audience Guidance
Subject Matter: Contains academic discussions of systemic racism, mass incarceration, and institutional inequality.
Target Audience: Highly suitable for university syllabi in sociology, law, and public policy, as well as for professionals working in civil rights and criminal justice reform.
Conclusion and Verdict
After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction serves as an academic and activist framework for understanding the collateral damage of late-20th-century American penal policy. Its long-term aspiration is to provide readers with a clear understanding of how the current institutional landscape was formed and to offer a roadmap for where policy and community action should direct their focus in the future.
Supplementary Elements: Reading Companions
Further Reading by the Editors and Related Authors
For readers interested in the factual progression of these themes, the following historically significant works explore overlapping topics:
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (2010) – Expands upon the intersection of race and the penal system.
Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America by Jonathan Simon (2014) – Further work by one of this volume’s editors on the legal and human rights implications of prison overcrowding.
Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian F. Haney López (2014) – Further work by one of this volume’s editors examining the intersection of race, politics, and policy.
Rating: ★★★ 3.5/5
- Prairie Fox 🦊📖
Disclaimer: I was provided an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. This provision has in no way affected the content, objectivity, or critical analysis of this review.
The full review is available here: https://prairiefoxreads.blogspot.com/...
Publication and Context
Title: After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction
Editors: Mary Louise Frampton, Jonathan Simon, Ian F. Haney-López
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Page Count: 256 pages
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Non-Fiction / Criminology / Sociology / Political Science
Target Audience: Academics, policy professionals, community activists, and readers interested in criminal justice reform, sociology, and American political history.
Contextual Backdrop:
Published in 2008, this volume addresses the socio-political landscape of the United States following decades of a “war on crime” that began in the 1970s. The book was released during a period when the American public and policymakers were confronting a multitude of intersecting challenges, including the economic implications of a disappearing middle class, global warming, and post-9/11 counter-terrorism efforts, prompting a societal shift in focus away from domestic crime rates.
Purpose and Thesis of the Work
According to the editors, the immediate goal of the book is to spark a fresh, critical conversation about the consequences of the war on crime. The overarching thesis asserts that simply declaring “victory” due to relatively low crime rates and moving on is both dangerous and inaccurate. Instead, the editors argue that the United States must engage in a deliberate process of “reconstruction” to address the profound, systemic damage inflicted by decades of aggressive penal policies.
Summary of the Work
After the War on Crime examines the domestic policies implemented since the 1970s, which resulted in a five-fold increase in the American imprisoned population and commensurate, unsustainable fiscal costs. The text highlights that the consequences of these policies extend far beyond basic incarceration statistics.
The collection of essays demonstrates how the war on crime has reshaped major American social institutions, specifically identifying impacts on law enforcement, politics, schooling, healthcare, and social welfare. Furthermore, the book explores how these policies have deeply altered societal conceptions of race and community, disproportionately devastating specific populations through increased rates and longer terms of incarceration.
Analysis and Evaluation
Contributors and Perspectives
To achieve its goals, the book utilizes a multidisciplinary approach. Rather than relying on a single authorial voice, the editors have curated original essays from a diverse group. This coalition includes:
Interdisciplinary academic scholars
Policy professionals
Community activists
Structure and Argumentation
The structural methodology of the book is divided into two primary tasks required for societal reconstruction:
Critical Assessment: The first half of the argumentation focuses on diagnosing the problem, providing a critical evaluation of exactly how the war on crime has systematically remade American society.
Creative Response: The latter portion transitions from assessment to actionable strategy, offering creative thinking on how various sectors—specifically government, foundations, communities, and activists—should respond to these institutional changes.
Evidence and Scope
The scope of the text is macro-sociological. It frames the war on crime not merely as a localized legal issue, but as a systemic force that has fundamentally altered the infrastructure of American democracy and social welfare systems.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths: The primary factual strength of the book is its holistic, systemic view of criminal justice. By including voices outside of traditional academia (such as community activists and policy professionals), the volume attempts to bridge the gap between theoretical sociology and on-the-ground civic action.
Limitations: As a factual limitation, the book was published in 2008. Therefore, its data and immediate policy recommendations reflect the landscape prior to subsequent major developments in criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement, and post-2008 economic shifts.
Contextual Analysis and Comparisons
Historical and Social Context
The book captures a specific historical pivot point. By 2008, crime rates had dropped significantly from their peaks in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The text directly addresses the resulting public complacency, warning that the underlying institutional changes brought about by mass incarceration—particularly regarding race and democracy—remain deeply embedded in the American system regardless of fluctuating crime statistics.
Suitability and Audience Guidance
Subject Matter: Contains academic discussions of systemic racism, mass incarceration, and institutional inequality.
Target Audience: Highly suitable for university syllabi in sociology, law, and public policy, as well as for professionals working in civil rights and criminal justice reform.
Conclusion and Verdict
After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction serves as an academic and activist framework for understanding the collateral damage of late-20th-century American penal policy. Its long-term aspiration is to provide readers with a clear understanding of how the current institutional landscape was formed and to offer a roadmap for where policy and community action should direct their focus in the future.
Supplementary Elements: Reading Companions
Further Reading by the Editors and Related Authors
For readers interested in the factual progression of these themes, the following historically significant works explore overlapping topics:
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (2010) – Expands upon the intersection of race and the penal system.
Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America by Jonathan Simon (2014) – Further work by one of this volume’s editors on the legal and human rights implications of prison overcrowding.
Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian F. Haney López (2014) – Further work by one of this volume’s editors examining the intersection of race, politics, and policy.
Rating: ★★★ 3.5/5
- Prairie Fox 🦊📖
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews