Less Law, More Order

 Less Law, More Order / Irvin Waller

Irvin Waller describes how media coverage of political icons like Mayor Giuliani leave the impression that violence is reduced by increasing numbers of police and incarcerating more poor, black and Hispanic young American males. Yet the facts show that most of the escalation in prisoners from half a million on an average day in 1970 to 2.2 million today was not in the interests of taxpayers or victims - only 25% of the retreat from the peaks in violence in 1990 can be assigned to the 400% increase in incarceration.