Book Review: When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Re-entry
| Date | 01 January 2004 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975800401000307 |
| Author | Brian Williams |
| Published date | 01 January 2004 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
285
also
on
how
the
realities
of
victirnisation
can
be
understood
within
that
wider
context.
REFERENCES
Hope,
T.
and
Sparks,
R.
(2000).
Crime,
Risk
and
Insecurity,
Routledge;
London.
Hughes,
G.,
McLaughlin
and
Muncie,
J.,
eds
(2001).
Crime
Prevention
and
Community
Safety;
new
directions.
Sage;
London.
Alan
Phipps,
Assistant
Lecturer
in
Criminology,
The
Open
University
and
Lecturer
in
Victimology,
Manchester
Metropolitan
University
WHEN
PRISONERS
COME
HOME:
PAROLE
AND
PRISONER
RE-ENTRY.
Joan
Petersilia,
Oxford
University
Press;
New
York,
2003,£18.99,278
pp.
ISBN
0
19
516086
X.
Public
opinion
in
America
accepts
that
prison
is
ineffective,
given
the
high
rates
of
recidivism
and
the
enormous
cost of
the
prison
system,
but
nevertheless
there
is
widespread
support
for
'supermax'
conditions
and
the
withdrawal
of
services
to
inmates
and
treatment
programmes
aimed
at
changing
their
behaviour.
What
has
this
to
do
with
victims
of
crime?
Surprisingly,
the
author
does
not
make
many
connections
between
victimisation
and
later
offending,
but
the
book
does
devote
a
whole
chapter
to
'The
victim's
role
in
prisoner
re-entry'
as
well
as
pointing
out
the
consequences
of
current
US
penal
policy
for
future
victims.
For
example,
the
political
decision
to
abolish
parole
in
many
states
has
led
to
increased
rates
of
re-offending,
and
there
is
some
evidence
of
deterrent
effects
of
having
to
earn
early
release
and
comply
with
post-release
supervision,
particularly
for
the
most
serious
offenders.
The
role
of
victim
agencies
in
some
states
in
advocating
and
supporting
the
abolition
of
parole
is
one
that
should
not
be
forgotten.
As
the
author
puts
it,
'No-parole
systems
sound
tough
but
remove
a
critical
gatekeeping
role,
which
can
protect
victims
and
communities.'
[p.
19]
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