Policing the Urban Underworld

Download or read book Policing the Urban Underworld written by David R. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how criminals shaped police behavior in the nineteenth century. It is an attempt to understand how the theory of crime prevention worked in practice. In general, we will see that the theory was not a particularly effective guide to crime control because its advocates assumed an overly simplistic view of the relationship between policemen and criminals. More specifically, I will argue that various types of criminals had, and have, the ability to negate the theory's promises because of the underworld's complexity and growth in an urban setting. The primary focus of this book therefore is on the interaction between policemen and criminals rather than on reformers and policemen. We must consider the experience of the police in dealing with criminals if we are to obtain a full understanding of the reasons why our police behave as they do. - p. vii.