Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer

San Francisco's District Attorney Kamala Harris goes beyond partisan politics in her recommendations for changes to the criminal justice system to prevent crime, cut costs, and reduce recidivism rates. She describes successful, innovative programs she has initiated in San Francisco, and describes other pioneering approaches from police, prosecutors, and the judiciary across the country. In the first part of the book, she confronts common myths about crime, and shows the connection between the broken educational system and crime. She then showcases programs and suggestions for dealing with truancy, gangs, prostitution, and domestic violence, and offers ideas on forging partnerships between police and communities. Hamilton is former Bay Area bureau chief for Business Week magazine. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The old approaches to fighting crime just aren't working. Two thirds of people released from prison commit anothercrime within two years. In Smart on Crime, career prosecutor Kamala D. Harris shatters the old distinctions, rooted in false choices and myths, and offers a compelling argument for how to make the criminal justice system truly, not just rhetorically, tough. Harris spells out the necessary shifts that will increase public safety, reduce costs, and strengthen our communities when our politicians and law enforcement officials learn how to become tough and smart on crime.