American politicians have been declaring victory in the war against crime at least since Richard Nixon said in 1972 that “[c]rime…[is] finally beginning to go back down…[because] we have a remarkable record on the law-and-order issues, with crime legislation…and narcotics bills.” In other words, crime declines because the government passes laws and spends money; larger prisons, more police, fewer civil liberties, and tougher punishments are winning the war on crime | more…
In this fact-filled, sweeping treatment, George Winslow takes on every aspect of the topic, from the streets to the suites. Unlike conventional accounts, Capital Crimes locates the problem within the context of the global economy from the Burmese heroin trade to homicide in the United States, from the capital flight that has generated crime in inner cities to corporate money-laundering schemes revealing how the occurrence, extent, and type of crime committed, as well as society’s response to the problem, are largely determined by economic forces shaped by elite interests. | more…
