The Mythology of Crime and Justice by Victor E. Kappeler, Mark Blumberg, and Gary W. Potter. Prospect Heights, IL: Wave-land Press. 1993. 262 pages. $12.95.

摘要: One of the most difficult tasks facing those of us who teach criminal justice is finding ways to make students challenge their preconceived notions about the nature of crime, criminals, and the administration of justice. Our discipline is cursed by the blessing of its popularity. People seem to have unequivocal ideas about what ought to be done about" the crime problem;" every night on the local and national news, reporters highlight the" successes and failures" in the criminal justice system's response to crime. Indeed, the outcomes of national elections sometimes are influenced heavily by a candidate's position on particular crime control issues that may have little or no relevance to the elected office being sought. Everyone, it seems, knows what the" problem of crime" consists of and what we ought to be doing about it. Unfortunately, many of the preconceived notions our students bring into the classroom, as well as …