The United States is in the midst of a significant re-evaluation of its criminal justice system, with increasing calls for reforming or defunding the police and efforts to curb mass incarceration. But focusing on the public criminal justice system paints an incomplete picture of how we address criminal activity. In Private Criminal Justice, Ric Simmons shows how significant amounts of criminal activity are detected by private police and how many disputes are settled, not in public courts, but through informal agreements between the victim and the accused or through adjudicative procedures run by private institutions. In this timely and eye-opening book, Simmons examines the vast, diverse, and under-appreciated private criminal justice system, suggesting reforms that can make these private responses more fair and revealing lessons the private criminal justice system can teach reformers of the public criminal justice system.
- Describes the many different facets of the private criminal justice system, from private police to private settlements and adjudications, to private dispositions
- Advises how to regulate and interact with the private criminal justice system
- Proposes reforms to the private and public criminal justice system
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Reviews & endorsements
'In this smart, fair-minded, and important book, Ric Simmons provides an eye-opening tour of the vast range of private services that sidestep and offer alternatives to the criminal legal system. He shows that 'private criminal justice' can't be assessed without understanding the problems of public criminal justice - and vice versa.' David Alan Sklansky, Stanley Morrison Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
'In Private Criminal Justice, Ric Simmons opens our eyes to a criminal justice system unfamiliar to most people and yet of enormous importance: the entirely private world of policing, adjudication, and punishment in the United States. These are not just vigilantes and volunteers, but also highly sophisticated actors and institutions that rival small cities in size. This timely and compelling book is a must-read, not just to understand private justice, but also to learn important lessons that can apply to our troubled public justice system.' Elizabeth E. Joh, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis, School of Law
'[The author] offers nuanced and grounded understandings of different perspectives missing in many traditional textbooks, and advocates exploring both systems in tandem to meet multiple needs. This volume will appeal to public audiences seeking insight into the criminal justice system, as well as students, scholars, and practitioners researching criminal justice, law, and public safety. Those with community-facing criminal justice roles may find the analysis especially useful in addressing community members' concerns … Highly recommended.' J. Bonnan-White, CHOICE
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Product details
- Date Published: October 2023
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781009347174
- length: 300 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 158 x 19 mm
- weight: 0.51kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
1. Criminal justice without the state
2. A brief history of crime
3. Public failings, private opportunities
4. Private law enforcement
5 Private criminal settlements as plea bargains
6. Private criminal settlements as blackmail
7. Private adjudications
8. Private dispositions
9. Regulating private criminal justice
10. The verdict on private criminal justice.
Look Inside
Author
Ric Simmons, Ohio State University
Ric Simmons is a Professor of Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He is the author of Smart Surveillance: How to Interpret the Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century (2019) and the co-author of four textbooks on Criminal Procedure and Evidence.