The Reinvention of Policing : Crime Prevention, Community, and Public Safety - William R. Kelly
eTextbook alternate format product

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!

Go digital and save!

The Reinvention of Policing

Crime Prevention, Community, and Public Safety

By: William R. Kelly, Daniel P. Mears, Madalena Almanza (Contribution by)

Hardcover | 30 September 2023

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $169.00

$135.40

20%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $33.85 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 5 to 10 business days

Contemporary policing is in crisis, a situation that has led to persistent calls to reform it. Unfortunately, many proposed solutions focus on piecemeal changes that ignore a fundamental problem—policing relies on a largely reactive approach that does not in any systematic or comprehensive way focus on crime prevention. Most of what the police do, such as responding to 911 calls for service and employing directed patrols or hot spots policing, fails to address the causes of crime. Compounding this problem is the absence of any institution or agency charged with prioritizing the prevention of crime and for ensuring that police efforts support this goal.

Kelly and Mears argue that a better strategy exists, one that places responsibility on the police and other governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations for truly preventing crime. Why, historically, did crime prevention not take hold and infuse policing? One reason is a design flaw—the vision of policing centered too much on surveillance and too little on efforts that target the diverse causes of crime. The end result? Contemporary policing lacks any institutionalized commitment or systematic approach to crime prevention. It is designed to fail.

The Reinvention of Policing diagnoses this problem, along with many others, in

American policing. Then the authors turn to solutions. First, they call for a great many reforms to existing practices. Second, they call for a reinvention of the design and focus of policing and, concomitantly, the way that states, cities, and towns approach public safety. This change presents special challenges, but it is the only way to create an appreciable impact in reducing crime and improving justice.

Industry Reviews

Every so often a book on policing comes along that shakes the field of criminology to its core. By calling out the moral and system failures, marshaling the research evidence of the gains made, and charting a path for real reform and social justice, The Reinvention of Policing, by Kelly and Mears, is that book. It is what we need now. It is what we will need for the years ahead.


In The Reinvention of Policing, Kelly and Mears provide a highly critical but simultaneously constructive account of the crises in policing today. They situate their critique of modern policing in the broader context of a failing criminal justice system, provide a detailed account how we got here, and offer a clear and convincing path towards a model of policing that truly prioritizes public safety through crime prevention. Truly a remarkable accomplishment and a must read for all those who seek transformational reforms in policing.


Kelly and Mears bring their decades of experience studying the criminal justice system to the crucial question of how to improve modern policing. This book clearly and comprehensively identifies not just the challenges in how policing currently operates, but also bold, realistic solutions to change practice. Centering crime prevention and public safety in efforts to transform police work offers great promise for fairer and more effective policing in the future. This book should be read by students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in seriously engaging with what works (and what does not) in improving public safety and applying these ideas to concrete strategies to enhance twenty-first century policing.


The Reinvention of Policing fills a critical void in our knowledge of policing in the U.S. The book offers a comprehensive account of the failures of American policing, as well as a model for reforming traditional policing. The authors draw from historical events, federal policies and practices, and the latest policing research to illustrate what works and what doesn't in crime prevention and public safety. This is a must read for policy makers and justice officials striving for an effective and cost-efficient justice system.

More in Crime & Criminology

Crime and Criminology : 7th Edition - Rob White

RRP $99.95

$85.90

14%
OFF
Corporate Law : 4th edition - Elizabeth Boros

RRP $168.95

$137.35

19%
OFF
Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice : 3rd edition - Rob White
The Gulag Archipelago : 1918-56 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

RRP $37.99

$33.90

11%
OFF
Daisy Haites : Magnolia Parks: Book 2 - Jessa Hastings

RRP $32.99

$30.25

The Fatal Shore - Robert Hughes

RRP $24.99

$23.75

The Birthday Girl : An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller - Sarah Ward
Daisy Haites : Book 2 - Jessa Hastings

RRP $22.99

$21.90

Red Notice : How I Became Putin's No. 1 Enemy - Bill Browder
Examining Crime and Justice around the World : Global Viewpoints - Janet P. Stamatel