Book Review: Decker, S. H., Alarid, L. F., & Katz, C. M. (Eds.). (2003). Controversies in Criminal Justice: Contemporary Readings. Los Angeles: Roxbury, 362 pp

• Author: Richard F. Culp
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016807300506
• Published date: 01 June 2007
• Date: 01 June 2007
• Subject Matter: Articles

Book Reviews

Decker, S. H., Alarid, L. F., & Katz, C. M. (Eds.). (2003).

Controversies in Criminal Justice: Contemporary Readings.

Los Angeles: Roxbury, 362 pp.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016807300506

Much of what we know about crime and societal responses to it is inherently controversial.

As a field, criminal justice abounds with controversy, from fundamental disagreement over

the extent to which nature or nurture accurately accounts for criminal behavior to more

nuanced disagreements over the specifics of criminal justice policy design. Criminal jus-

tice, of course, is hardly unique in this regard: Controversies emerge in any field of inquiry

when previously held assumptions are challenged by new research findings or when emerg-

ing situations require policy responses in an environment of lingering uncertainty. Students

of criminal justice, a field deeply enmeshed with the public policy process, need to develop

critical thinking skills that can help unpack these controversies and promote societal

responses that are well conceived, just, and effective.

In Controversies in Criminal Justice, Decker, Alarid, and Katz recommend a basic for-

mat for critical thinking and challenge students to apply it when considering 16 different

controversies within the field. The controversies are presented in the familiar format of pro

and con articles from contributing authors on either side of the fence. More than simply a

collection of readings, the authors include a brief introduction to critical thinking as a

process and offer a simple, two-step model of how to go about it: by first considering the

logical consistency of each contributor’s argument and by considering the adequacy of

the research used in support of it. The authors organize the controversies into four sections:

the nature of crime, law enforcement, administering the criminal law, and the punishment

of offenders. They provide a general introduction to each section and separate introductions

to each of the 16 controversial issues. Each issue-specific introduction includes descriptive

data to help place the issue within a broader context, suggested critical thinking questions,

and Internet resources that can provide additional information about the issue at hand.

The compilation offers a broad range of issues, including some enduring ones and others of

more recent vintage, with contributions from authors of diverse backgrounds. For example,

Part 1 begins with Ethan Nadlemann’s (circa 1990) argument in favor of the legalization of

drugs and James Q. Wilson’s defense of continued prohibition. The section also juxtaposes

Herrnstein and Murray’s sociobiological analysis of innate intelligence and crime with a

rejoinder by Cullen, Gendreau, Jarjoura, and Wright. Part 2 includes the more contemporary

(circa 2000) but no less contentious debate over whether or not the police target racial minori-

ties in traffic stops, with arguments advanced by a journalist (who concludes that the police do)

and a police chief (who maintains that they do not). The diversity of backgrounds among the

individuals contributing chapters to the book—it includes academics, researchers, attorneys,

students, and practitioners—translates into variation in the quality of arguments advanced and

the extent of research-derived data on which their claims are based. This variety also provides

grist for the critical thinking mill suggested by the authors in the introduction.

Rounding out the 16 controversies are pro and con chapters that consider, respectively,

whether gun permit laws should be relaxed, whether the government has gone too far in the

fight against terrorism, whether policing should be organized according to the military model,

163

Criminal Justice Review

Volume 32 Number 2

June 2007 163-180

© 2007 Georgia State University

Research Foundation, Inc.

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