Out-of-Control Criminal Justice

Daniel P. Mears is the Mark C. Stafford Professor of Criminology at Florida State University. He has published widely, including over 100 articles and two books, including the award-winning book, American Criminal Justice Policy (Cambridge, 2010). His research studies and federally funded projects have examined a diverse range of crime and justice issues. And his views have been cited in such media outlets as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. Previously, he served as a Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center and as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a program counselor working with adolescents.

• 1. Introduction: out-of-control criminal justice; 2. Systems problems are not specific to crime and justice; 3. What is a system?; 4. The criminal justice system; 5. The systems improvement solution for safety, justice, accountability, and efficiency; 6. Benefits of the systems improvement solution and pitfalls to avoid in implementing it; 7. Conclusion: criminal justice under control.

''Criminal justice system' - no phrase is more often voiced and less often understood. In a remarkable scholarly achievement, Daniel P. Mears rectifies this knowledge gap, illuminating what makes our current system 'out-of-control' and offering theoretically informed and evidence-based ideas on how to fix it. Comprehensive in scope and clearly written, this volume should sit on every criminologist's shelf and be assigned in any course that seeks to understand and improve criminal justice.' Francis T. Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati