Community Justice

by John R. Hamilton Jr., Todd R. Clear, Eric Cadora

Fully revised and updated edition

Text has been repositioned as an intro textbook to Community Justice (first edition was more of a ‘Key Idea’ approach)

Only text on the market that addresses fully all elements of the criminal justice system and community

Now includes international examples

Wider geographical market

Author is current president of the ASA

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2002

Reviews

[Eponine Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a class. The concepts presented were important, but the structure of the book felt a bit... well... unstructured at times.
During the final chapter there seems to be new concepts introduced that aren't discussed through the rest of the book, which is a bit strange.

Overall not bad, but it could be organized better.

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reviews different facets of the criminal justice system and offers some more empathetic, social justice community-based solutions (what the authors call "community justice" beyond the standard, punitive criminal justice system. The book is broken up into 5 chapters detailing how community justice is or would impact the current system: impact of community justice on communities; policing; courts; corrections; and the future. The authors emphasize the need to gather and evaluate evidence in order to determine effectiveness. Community justice alternatives also require the political will to make sure reforms occur. Again, this book is not calling for abolition. It's calling for a reformed system. (Another book from a CJ Master's class.) It's not a long book and fairly accessible.