Danielle Sered, Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair.

• Date: 22 June 2020

Danielle Sered, Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair (The New Press, 2019)

DANIELLE SERED, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMON JUSTICE, FOCUSES on solutions to violence in the context of mass incarceration in her first book, Until We Reckon. Sered unapologetically discusses ways to avoid incarceration and address the problem of racism within the United States. The benefits of restorative justice are presented in depth from the viewpoints of victims, offenders, and society but is survivor-centric throughout. Sered contends that incarceration does not solve the social problem of violence and makes the argument that, if that were true, the United States "would be the safest nation in all of human history" (p. 7). She demonstrates that most violence does not result from the pathology of an individual but, rather, is created from various social drivers; poverty, inequity, lack of opportunities, shame, and isolation. Incarceration exacerbates the driving forces of violence by halting education, causing homelessness, restricting employment opportunities, and destroying the social fabric of our communities. Sered argues that mass incarceration cannot solve violence, just as reform cannot solve mass incarceration without first addressing the issue of violence. Sered challenges readers to think about ways violence can be addressed without relying on punishment and instead focus on what is healing for the offender, the victim, and the community and how to hold all parties accountable for healing.

Acts of violence, and depictions of it in the media, have become normalized in our society, yet the lasting effects of violence on individuals and communities are neglected. Sered does not shy away from the topic of trauma but discusses its far-reaching impacts. The book documents the ways that the current criminal justice system fails to meet the needs of victims, leaving many feeling retraumatized and unsatisfied with the outcomes. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2017 only 45 percent of violent victimizations were reported to the police, and only 8 percent of victims of violent crime received any form of help from any public or private victim services agency (Morgan & Truman 2018). Even when crimes are taken to court, a victory in the courtroom can leave victims feeling unfulfilled and cause additional pain. Sered argues that our criminal justice system should shift the focus to what victims need to heal.

Accountability is what is needed, because our current system is a passive instrument of punishment. Punishment alone is an ineffective method for controlling behavior, yet this is all the U.S. criminal justice system relies on as its driving force and as a tool of revenge, carried out in the name of victims. The current system does not hold individuals accountable for their actions; prison "insulates...