Introduction; 1. Is it violent crime?; 2. Tracking racial bias; 3. Unanticipated consequences of the justice system; 4. The politics of crime; 5. Race, 'Applied Science' and public policy: the case of the criminaloid; 6. The future: from managerial efficiency to biological necessity; Notes; Index.
This book argues that racial bias causes large percentages of American black males to be imprisoned.
"With this tightly argued and methodologically sound volume, Miller, a criminal justice expert from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will make readers think about some widespread social assumptions associating crime and African American men...All in all, this serves as one of the most important and clear-eyed challenges to date to the linking of crime and race and to the entire conservative anti-welfare, hard-on-crime agenda." Publishers Weekly "Jerry Miller's Search and Destroy is a riveting and important exploration into the criminal justice system in America today and its impact on young African American males. Everybody should read it and decide how to devote more energy to keeping our young men out of the criminal justice system. Something is wrong with the values of a nation that would rather spend far more to lock up children than spend far less to give them a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life." Marian Wright Edelman, President, The Children's Defense Fund and author of The Measure of Our Successes: A Letter to My Children and Yours "This book constitutes a powerful warning for all of us. Jerry Miller has spent a lifetime understanding our criminal justic system. He has worked to make it more progressive and more just. He has watched as it turned into a system of segregation and control for many Americans of color. That is the story told here in devastating detail. If we are truly know what we have become as a society we have to face the story told between the covers of this book." Bill Kovach, Nieman Foundation, Harvard University "With this tightly argued and methodologically sound volume, Miller, a criminal justice expert from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will make readers think about some widespread social assumptions associating crime and African American men...All in all, this serves as one of the most important and clear-eyed challenges to date to the linking of crime and race and to the entire conservative anti-welfare, hard-on-crime agenda." Publishers Weekly "In his lively, intelligent book, Miller concludes that society is using the criminal justice system as a means to control the underclass, and he voices concern for the future if this trend continues." Booklist "This book is an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to understand the actual operation of the criminal justice system and its effects on African-American men..." MultiCultural Review "This book is an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to understand the actual operation of the criminal justice system and its effects on African-American men..." MultiCultural Review "Jerome Miller's level-headed, refreshingly rigorous analysis of all the data at hand goes a long way to prove what enlightened commentators have been saying for a long time: Crime statistics are manipulated by conservative politicians and pundits to validate their quite wrong-headed 'get tough' approach to law and order; hars punishment does not deter crime, but it does guarantee continual expansion of the prison population, off of which the interest groups that make up the prison-industrial complex profit, and people of color are the big losers in the accelerating imprisonment binge. Miller covers much ground in teh process of proving his thesis." Terry A. Kupers, Men & Masculinities "The importance of Jerome Miller's Search and Destroy grows with each passing day... Its charges are recent, and are based on fresh evidence. Miller speaks with passion, intensity, and wisdom based on over 30 years experience with actual participants in the justice system..." Wayne N. Renke, Alberta Law Review
"With this tightly argued and methodologically sound volume, Miller, a criminal justice expert from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will make readers think about some widespread social assumptions associating crime and African American men...All in all, this serves as one of the most important and clear-eyed challenges to date to the linking of crime and race and to the entire conservative anti-welfare, hard-on-crime agenda." Publishers Weekly "Jerry Miller's Search and Destroy is a riveting and important exploration into the criminal justice system in America today and its impact on young African American males. Everybody should read it and decide how to devote more energy to keeping our young men out of the criminal justice system. Something is wrong with the values of a nation that would rather spend far more to lock up children than spend far less to give them a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life." Marian Wright Edelman, President, The Children's Defense Fund and author of The Measure of Our Successes: A Letter to My Children and Yours "This book constitutes a powerful warning for all of us. Jerry Miller has spent a lifetime understanding our criminal justic system. He has worked to make it more progressive and more just. He has watched as it turned into a system of segregation and control for many Americans of color. That is the story told here in devastating detail. If we are truly know what we have become as a society we have to face the story told between the covers of this book." Bill Kovach, Nieman Foundation, Harvard University "With this tightly argued and methodologically sound volume, Miller, a criminal justice expert from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will make readers think about some widespread social assumptions associating crime and African American men...All in all, this serves as one of the most important and clear-eyed challenges to date to the linking of crime and race and to the entire conservative anti-welfare, hard-on-crime agenda." Publishers Weekly "In his lively, intelligent book, Miller concludes that society is using the criminal justice system as a means to control the underclass, and he voices concern for the future if this trend continues." Booklist "This book is an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to understand the actual operation of the criminal justice system and its effects on African-American men..." MultiCultural Review "This book is an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to understand the actual operation of the criminal justice system and its effects on African-American men..." MultiCultural Review "Jerome Miller's level-headed, refreshingly rigorous analysis of all the data at hand goes a long way to prove what enlightened commentators have been saying for a long time: Crime statistics are manipulated by conservative politicians and pundits to validate their quite wrong-headed 'get tough' approach to law and order; hars punishment does not deter crime, but it does guarantee continual expansion of the prison population, off of which the interest groups that make up the prison-industrial complex profit, and people of color are the big losers in the accelerating imprisonment binge. Miller covers much ground in teh process of proving his thesis." Terry A. Kupers, Men & Masculinities "The importance of Jerome Miller's Search and Destroy grows with each passing day... Its charges are recent, and are based on fresh evidence. Miller speaks with passion, intensity, and wisdom based on over 30 years experience with actual participants in the justice system..." Wayne N. Renke, Alberta Law Review
There was much talk last fall about the grimmer-than-usual regular report from the Sentencing Project, which found that, at any given time, one in three black men in their 20s is in prison, on probation or on parole. How one reacted to those statistic was probably colored by both race and by previous encounters with the criminal justice system. With this tightly argued and methodologically sound volume, Miller, a criminal justice expert from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will make readers think about some widespread social assumptions associating crime and African American men. Most black men who come in contact with the criminal justice system do so for relatively minor infractions; and even when charges aren't pressed, many black men are saddled with undeserved records that can cause trouble in finding a job and with any future brushes with law enforcement. But the greatest change in the prosecution of black men in recent years has been the "war on drugs," which has brought about not only tougher sentences on users of crack cocaine but also alarming arrest rates. Several areas around the country show similar statistics: 90% of those arrested on drug charges are black in areas where African Americans make up only 11%-12% of the population. The percentage of new inmates being incarcerated on drug charges has surpassed those sent to prison for violent offenses. Some may find Miller's discussion of the genetic presupposition of criminality suggested by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein's The Bell Curve a little tangential, but it does address underlying biases that have tangible influence on policy. All in all, this serves as one of the most important and clear-eyed challenges to date to the linking of crime and race and to the entire conservative anti-welfare, hard-on-crime agenda. (June)
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