Book Reviews : The Dangerous and the Endangered. John P. Conrad. Lexington Books, 1985

• Author: Patricia Von Voorhis
• DOI: 10.1177/088740348700200208
• Published date: 01 June 1987
• Date: 01 June 1987
• Subject Matter: Articles

195

victims,

offenders,

and

professionals

in

criminal

justice.

The

last

chapter

of

the

book

makes

an

important

contribution

by

describing

oresent

practices

in

dealing

with

females

and

crime

and

by

addressing

the

implications

for

legislative

reform

and

future

policy

making.

Unfortunately,

as

Professor

Flowers

cautions,

effective

change

will

be

difficult

as

long

as

traditional

stereotypes

of

men

and

women

continue

to

influence

our

perceptions

of

females

in

the

criminal

justice

system.

For

example,

according

to

the

author,

the

system’s

response

to

victims

of

crime

and

its

treatment

of

offenders

still

favor

adult

males,

reflecting

the

double

standard

in

this

male-dominated

world.

Furthermore,

in

spite

of

significant

legislative

measures

adopted

by

states

in

dealing

with

battered

women

and

rape

victims,

policy

changes

in

processing

them

through

the

system

have

been

slow

in

coming.

It

is

encouraging

that

the

International

Association

of

Chiefs

of

Police

(IACP)

is

supporting

the

results

of

recent

research

demonstrating

that

arrest

is

preferable

to

nonintervention

in

police

handling

of

domestic

disturbances.

With

regard

to

rape,

however,

although

traditional

laws

have been

updated

in

virtually

all

states

and

much

progress

has

been

made

by

community

support

groups

in

helping

victims,

a

negative

response

to

the

victim

still

exists

throughout

the

system.

In

his

conclusion

the

author

makes

some

useful

recommendations

for

positive

reform

in

dealing

with

women

in

our

criminal

justice

system,

but

cautions

that

research

policies

must

be

revised

if

they

are

to

be

implemented.

Specifically,

he

calls

for

a

unified

approach

in

the

study

of

females

and

criminal

justice,

arguing

that

fragmented

studies

which

now

exist

provide

us

with

only

a

limited

view

of

this

problem

in

a

rapidly

changing

society.

To

his

credit,

Professor

Flowers

has

set

a

standard

for

others

to

follow

in

examining

the

multifaceted

nature

of

this

problem.

This

book

is

a

welcome

addition

to

the

literature

on

women

and

criminality.

It

should

be of

particular

interest

to

the

general

reader

as

a

concise,

well-organized

and

clearly

written

review

of

important

aspects

of

this

social

problem.

It

would

be

excellent

as a

supplementary

text

in

criminal

justice,

criminology,

victimology,

and

women’s

studies

courses.

In

addition

to

a

selected

bibliography,

scholars

will

appreciate

the

excellent

bibliographical

essay

which

provides

a

basis for

further

research.

Bette

D.

Fox

Eastern

Kentucky

University

The

Dangerous

and

the

Endangered.

John

P.

Conrad.

Lexington

Books,

1985.

Building

upon

years

of

research

into

the

careers

of

violent

offenders,

John