A History of Crime and Criminal Justice in America, Second Ediition

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This updated second edition provides an overview of the origin and development of the American criminal justice system, from the founding of Jamestown, the first English settlement, and tracing history to the events of September 11, 2001. Each chapter begins with an overview of the social, political, and economic forces that shaped society during a given era in American history. What follows, then, is an overview of the ordinary and extraordinary crimes of each era, and how the criminal justice system (police, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice) responded to these crimes, thereby conveying how the system developed over time.

A History of Crime and Criminal Justice in America provides a window into the past and a cure for our collective historical ignorance and amnesia. The authors have done a masterful job of synthesizing and presenting this enormously complex topic. This book will not provide a cure for crime or a magic bullet to reform the criminal justice system, [but] readers who make this fascinating journey through time with Willard Oliver and James Hilgenberg will . . . gain a heightened sense of the complexities of American criminal justice and, hopefully, learn to avoid the mistakes of the past. Dr. Alexander W. Pisciotta, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (From the Foreword)