This ethnographic study of contemporary urban criminals examines issues such as the human dimensions of criminal lives, the family conditions that cause children to become deviant, and the role of jails and prisons in deterrence and rehabilitation. It also proposes anti-crime policy initiatives.

Girls are no less important to gang life than boys. Young women get trapped in cycles of victimization and self-defeating behaviour despite their tough talk to the contrary. This book aims to expose gang life as seen through the eyes of a teen-aged girl named Cara. It provides an account of Cara's life as a member of a Kansas city gang, the Fremont Hustlers. Drugs and guns, shootings and assaults, boyfriends and pregnancies, ratty apartments, broken-down cars, minimum wage jobs, strained relationships with family and peers, dodging the police and praying for peace fill her days. The book...

Crime and Employment crystallizes the issue of work as a rehabilitative instrument in the modern correctional environment. It explores the effect of employment on crime and recidivism, with its implications for correctional programs and operations as well as for ex-offender reintegration into the community. The professionals contributing to this volume evaluate the effectiveness of employment in enabling offenders to desist from crime; the roles of prison versus community correctional services; the success of work programs for older versus younger offenders; the effect of industrial...

Warehousing Violence addresses an issue of major concern for the prison system - how to maintain order amongst violent criminals who are in prison for life. Fleisher, an anthropologist who served as a line corrections officer at a maximum security prison in California, points to the success of at least one experiment in non-violence among very violent people. Through a mixture of hands-on management, strict control and innovative prison industry, he shows how even the 'hardest cases' can be kept relatively placid in prison.

The Myth of Prison Rape provides a nuanced glimpse into the complex sexual dynamics of the American prison. Drawing on results from the most comprehensive study of inmate sexuality to date, the authors analyze the intricacies of sexuality and sexual violence in daily inmate life. Dynamic case studies and interview excerpts enliven this cultural study of sexuality, safety, and violence in American prisons.

The Myth of Prison Rape provides a nuanced glimpse into the complex sexual dynamics of the American prison. Drawing on results from the most comprehensive study of inmate sexuality to date, the authors analyze the intricacies of sexuality and sexual violence in daily inmate life. Dynamic case studies and interview excerpts enliven this cultural study of sexuality, safety, and violence in American prisons.

Living Black breaks the stereotype of poor African American neighborhoods as dysfunctional ghettos of helpless and hopeless people. Despite real and enduring poverty, the community described here the historic North End of Champaign, Illinois has a vibrant social life and strong ties among generations. But it operates on its own nonjudgmental terms teen moms aren t derided, school dropouts aren t ridiculed, and parolees and ex-cons aren t scorned.
Mark S. Fleisher offers a window into daily life in this neighborhood, particularly through the stories of Mo and Memphis Washington, who...