Incapacitation: Penal Confinement and the Restraint of Crime (Studies in Crime and Public Policy) - Hardcover

"Zimring and Hawkins have over the years, together and individually, shown a remarkable ability to offer insightful, timely, and practical opinions and research. That knack is continued in Incapacitation: Penal Confinement and the Restraint of Crime."--The Criminologist

"In this volume, Zimring and Hawkins bring intellectual vigor to describing the history of incapacitation as a concept, detailing previous research on incapacitation, and estimating the economic crime control and other impacts of incapacitation on the state of California. Incapacitation is an important addition to the literature for those who have concerns about the direction of American crime policy."--The IARCA Journal

"Incapacitation does everything that a book on this neglected subject should do, and does it brilliantly. The authors are masters not only of penology and empirical research methods but also of economic theory and jurisprudence. Using data derived from recent increases in prison and jail populations, they skewer overly optimistic estimates of the gains of increased incarceration."--Albert W. Alschuler, University of Chicago

"At a time when long imprisonment is being advanced by pundits and politicians as America's answer to its crime problem, Zimring and Hawkins offer a brilliantly conceived, sharply analytical and badly needed examination of the topic."--Jerome H. Skolnick, University of California, Berkeley

"Zimring and Hawkins, two highly respected scholars, review and critique all of the evidence on the costs and benefits of prison, and tackle the toughest question of all: why hasn't the growth of prison populations reduced crime significantly? Their answer is well-reasoned and empirically informed, and should be must reading for analysts, students, and policymakers interested in crime policy."--Joan Petersilia,University of California at Irvine and former President, American Society of Criminology