Deterrence and Crime Prevention

"Deterrence – or the threat of sanctions for violation of rules – is a complex concept but an inherent part of any crime-control strategy. David Kennedy has thought long and hard about the complexities and has worked directly with law enforcement and communities in developing innovative deterrent strategies and tactics. In this wide-ranging exploration of the many facets of deterrence, Kennedy draws heavily on his involvement with real-world crime prevention to develop new frameworks to make sure that deterrent threats are framed to do the job."

Alfred Blumstein, Heinz School, Carnegie Mellon University

"David Kennedy demonstrates an encyclopedic command of the deterrence literature. More important is his balanced and insightful analysis of the promise and limits of deterrence for preventing crime. This book is a must read for students of deterrence and practitioners who can affect the way the punitive powers of the police, courts, and corrections are used to prevent crime."

Daniel S. Nagin, Teresa and H. John Heinz III University Professor of Public Policy and Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University

"By the thoughtful application of focused deterrence strategies our community has become a safer place. Our neighborhoods have been freed from the terror of violence associated with overt drug markets. The teamwork that took place between the police and our citizens to make this happen has actually been healing to the relationship between the police and our African-American citizens in particular. We should never again have to admit that we cannot work together successfully due to the baggage of misunderstanding. The ability to produce sustained reductions in violent crime in our most troubled neighborhoods has been achieved. We now enjoy the ability to effectively combat violent crime in a manner that does not produce unintended harm to our relationships within the very community that needs our help so desperately. This book chronicles the path, from the theories to particle application, to achieving long awaited success in this arena. My sincere gratitude goes to David Kennedy for showing us the way."

Jim Fealy, Chief of Police, High Point, NC

"Practitioners, policy makers, and scholars should make room for "Deterrence and Crime Prevention" on their special bookshelf reserved for often-used guides to their thinking and practice. This fresh look at deterrence is theoretically sound and empirically based. Most importantly, it heavily relies on Mr. Kennedy's "on the ground" pathbreaking work in violence prevention and drug market control. My prepublication copy is dogged-eared already.

George L. Kelling, Professor, School of Criminal Justice Rutgers University, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute

"The book succeeds brilliantly at two levels: it reformulates deterrence theory for criminologists and, for law enforcement, it shows how focused partnerships with communities and other agencies can reduce even very serious crime."

Ronald V. Clarke, University Professor, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University

"Academic books tend to be written for other academics - this is an exception. It rightly challenges many of our assumptions about the fundamentals on which policing is based. It goes on to suggest some powerful ways in which we can rethink our approaches to the most intractable problems facing policing today - drugs, gangs, guns and violence. I thoroughly commend it to colleagues across the world."

Deputy Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, Paul Stephenson

"David Kennedy’s wise book is a must-read for all policy-makers, practitioners and researchers working in criminal justice. It contains the most imaginative, informed and wide-ranging discussion of deterrence as a means of crime control that is yet to appear. The argument is highly accessible and reflects not only Kennedy’s fine scholarship but also his wide experience in working with the police and their partners to develop and implement effective crime control strategies.

Nick Tilley, Visiting Professor at the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London

"It is perhaps once in a generation that a book is published that changes the way we think about a major area of public policy. This is one such book. It is both readable and scholarly; theoretical and practical. It is the only academic book I have ever read that I would describe as a page turner. It will be on the ‘must read’ list of crime scholars for years to come.

Gloria Laycock, Professor of Crime Science, University College London Jill Dando Institute

"After years on the periphery of crime policy, "deterrence" can now take center stage. David Kennedy’s new book, inspired by his path-breaking work to reduce gang violence in Boston and close drug markets in High Point, North Carolina, illuminates the breadth and power of deterrence as a crime prevention tool. His discussion of the benefits of direct communication with likely reoffenders, the effectiveness of informal sanctions (such as family disapproval), and the ways in which enforcement can unintentionally undermine deterrence should interest any practitioner who seeks to prevent crime, and not simply react to it. Kennedy’s work has the potential to reframe our discussion, and ractice, of crime control policy.

Paul Seave, Director, Governor’s Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy, acramento, California.