Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime

July 15, 2019
Criminology professor Waller (Smarter Crime Control: A Guide to a Safer Future for Citizens, Communities and Politicians), a leading authority on victims’ rights, does a solid, jargon-free job of explaining achievable strategies for reducing violent crime, though the utopian goal of “ending” it is just rhetoric. After reviewing the toll violent crime continues to exact, Waller moves on to analyses of why traditional law enforcement approaches have not worked, noting, for instance, that having police deal with social and health issues such as homelessness and mental illness is not an effective use of resources. Waller pulls together numerous studies that demonstrate the impact of difficult early childhood on future crime, as well as the benefits of social structure investments for youth. While the author meets his stated goal of showcasing “the effective solutions, the essentials for implementation, and some of the secrets for getting buy-in,” American readers may remain skeptical that any meaningful reforms are likely to come on a national level, given the current political climate, which also affects funding of local initiatives. Nonetheless, this remains a conversation starter that can only make progress more likely.