Synopsis: The old approaches to fighting crime just aren't working. Two thirds of people released from prison commit another crime within two years. In Smart on Crime, career prosecutor Kamala D. Harris shatters the old distinctions, rooted in false choices and myths, and offers a compelling argument for how to make the criminal justice system truly, not just rhetorically, tough. Harris spells out the necessary shifts that will increase public safety, reduce costs, and strengthen our communities when our politicians and law enforcement officials learn how to become tough and smart on crime.
My Review:
“Smart on Crime had three pillars: maintain a relentless and intense focus on violence and the prosecution of violent criminals; id key points in the lives of young offenders and stop them from continuing and escalating their criminal behavior; and support victims of crime and, in the process, foster crime prevention.”
The question is how can we successfully rehabilitate those who are or have been in prison? San Francisco’s District Attorney Kamala Harris has been asking that very same question. Kamala Harris along with Joan O’C. Hamilton discuss the myths about crime and on reforming our broken criminal justice system. Harris examines innovative ways of how our society can combat the issues facing both law abiders and law breakers. While this book only touches the tip of the iceberg concerning issues related to crime and its causes, Harris sheds light on the inconsistencies with the way the public views crime and the reality behind this problem.
As Ms. Harris points out non violent crime is the majority of the type of crimes our law enforcement officers are fighting everyday while we are spending the majority of our time, money, and resources on violent crimes which is the top tier of the pyramid and a much smaller piece of the pie as you might say. If we are going to fight crime in a smarter, more efficient way then we need to allocate more resources to non violent crime which seems to be the majority of the problem. In other words Harris explores how we can achieve the safety we demand in the most effective way and at the lowest monetary cost.
Ms. Harris states that one of the leading issues today is truancy and Harris goes further in making a correlation between truancy as one of the causes of crime. She believes that the more education you have, the less likely it is that you will committee a crime in the future or you will committee a lesser crime. As the old adage states “Knowledge is power” and with and education there are a number of opportunities that can be open to an individual that was not previously available.
I think this book gave the broad strokes on top issues today while making a connection with the reader through personal stories from both Harris and people who have been involved in crime. While statistics are used to illustrate a point you are not bogged down in the numbers. This woman is going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to being a D.A. and I think our country will benefit greatly from her continued efforts.
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