Errors of Justice by Brian Forst

Errors of Justice by Brian Forst

In this book, Brian Forst takes a fresh perspective on the assessment of criminal justice policy, examining the prospect of assessing policies based on their impact on errors of justice: the error of failing to bring offenders to justice, on the one hand, and the error of imposing costs on innocent people and excessive costs on offenders, on the other. Noting that we have sophisticated systems for managing errors in statistical inference and quality control processes and no parallel system for managing errors of a more socially costly variety - on matters of guilt and innocence - the author lays the foundation for a common sense approach to the management of errors in the criminal justice system, from policing and prosecution to sentencing and corrections. He examines the sources of error in each sector, the harms they impose on society, and frameworks for analyzing and reducing them.

'Brian Forst tackles the topic of errors of justice in a balanced manner that has been absent from the scholarly debate on the effects of the criminal justice policy on outcomes … no other book that addresses such a range of important criminal justice topics using the critical yardstick of analysis, and that is indeed the book's major strength … long overdueThe book provides a blueprint for the kinds of data we need to better estimate the extent and costs of real errors associated with criminal justice policy. Dr Forst is ideally suited to write this book. His expertise on statistical inference, criminal justice information systems, policing, prosecution, and the death penalty is put to powerful use here. The book is immensely readable, rigorous and thorough, yet it will be accessible to non-technical readers. This is a valuable scholarly contribution. I loved it!' Joan Petersilia, University of California, Irvine
'Errors of Justice provides a powerful, well-grounded framework for analyzing some of the great topics of our day: wrongful convictions, the rights of suspects in terrorist investigations, the overuse of prison as a sanction, and reform of the exclusionary rule, to name just a few. Brian Forstas application of the principles of statistical inference and welfare economics to reducing criminal justice error is cogent, fresh, and interesting. This is an important book.' Philip J. Cook, Duke University
'… very accessible …'. The Times

Forst, Brian: - Brian Forst joined the American University faculty after twenty years in nonprofit research, including positions as research director at the Institute for Law and Social Research and the Police Foundation. He is author most recently of After Terror (with Akbar Ahmed, 2005), Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources, and Remedies (Cambridge University Press, 2004), and The Privatization of Policing: Two Views (with Peter Manning, 1999). He is a member of the American University Senate and chairs the Department of Justice, Law, and Society's doctoral program. He is also a voting member of the Sentencing Commission for the District of Columbia.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521821308
ISBN 10	0521821304
Title	Errors of Justice
Author	Brian Forst
Series	Cambridge Studies In Criminology
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2003-11-17
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.