Imprisoning communities

This volume maintains that current incarceration policy in urban America does more harm than good, from increasing crime to widening racial disparities and diminished life chances for youths. The author argues that we cannot overcome the problem of mass incarceration concentrated in poor places without incorporating an idea of community justice into our failing correctional and criminal justice systems. He demonstrates that high doses of incarceration contribute to the very social problems it is intended to solve: it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and…