Book Review: Byrne, J. M. & Rebovich, D. (2007). The New Technology of Crime, Law and Social Control Monsey. NY: Criminal Justice Press, pp. 379, viii

Date01 December 2009
Published date01 December 2009
DOI10.1177/1057567709349206
Subject MatterArticles
Moreover, while the author makes a strong case that the power of the prosecutor is subject to mis-
use, one might question the functionality of her proposed reforms. The main engine of reform, she
suggests, should be the bar associations, both national and state, who should clarify rules for prose-
cutors, enforce these rules, and engage in significant amounts of citizen education about the perfor-
mance of individual prosecutors. Unfortunately, as she demonstrated in an earlier chapter, bar
associations have been lax in their regulation of prosecutorial misbehavior. She does not explain why
they are likely to change this behavior.
However, despite these reservations, I recommend that scholars and lay people interested in the
operation of the criminal justice system read this book. The prosecutor is a powerful actor in the sys-
tem, yet relatively little is written about her office. Angela Davis’ book contributes in important
ways to our knowledge of this power.
David M. Jones
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Byrne, J. M. & Rebovich, D. (2007). The New Technology of Crime,
Law and Social Control Monsey. NY: Criminal Justice Press, pp. 379, viii.
DOI: 10.1177/1057567709349206
Technology impacts crime and criminal justice in a variety of ways. It creates opportunities for
new kinds of offending, provides additional tools for crime prevention and detection, offers novel
avenues for the management of inmates, and provides innovative ways to manage the flood of doc-
uments produced by courts. In short, technology is becoming increasingly central to both crime and
criminal justice. Yet its importance remains inadequately recognized by scholars and its implications
remain underresearched. The impact of technology on crime, crime prevention, and criminal justice
is the focus of this highly informative and timely book.
The editors pursue three themes: the possibility that technological innovations will begin to
replace people with things, the likelihood that our fascination with new technologies will lead us
to neglect individual and social change, and the long-term consequences of the privatization of crim-
inal justice functions. After an introductory chapter, a section on technology and crime is followed
by sections on the application of technology to crime prevention, police, courts, institutional correc-
tions, and community corrections. The concluding chapter focuses on social control via the engineer-
ing of environments.
Each section is organized around the distinction between ‘‘hard’’ and ‘‘soft’’ technology. Hard
technology is defined as materials, devices, or equipment that can be used to commit, prevent, or
control crime. Soft technology includes new software, systems, or other developments that also pro-
vide opportunities for commission and control of crime. Each section contains a chapter on the
impact of ‘‘hard’’ technology and a second on ‘‘soft’’ technology.
Four of the chapters are particularly notable. In a cogent discussion, the authors of the chapter on
hard technology and crime point out that the impact of technology on crime remains underre-
searched. The authors argue that an effective understanding of the impact of technology on crime
requires considering the context in which both crime and technology take place. They illustrate their
argument by framing the context of crime, using Sparks’ 1981 typology of crime as work, crime at
work, and crime after work. They then show how technology can be situated within that framework.
498 International Criminal Justice Review

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