To Serve and Protect (book)
Encyclopedia
To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice is a book by Bruce L. Benson
about private policing, private prosecution
, and other market-based methods of providing criminal justice
. Benson traces the history of government's escalating involvement in criminal justice over the past centuries in the United Kingdom
and in the United States
, and argues that it has resulted in overpriced, low-quality service that does not adequately address the needs of communities and crime victims. He argues for parole bond
s, restorative justice
, shifting toward a criminal justice system that resembles the civil tort
system, and other reforms. The book is written in a dogmatic style; one reviewer notes, "His writing is heavy going in places, drifting off into Ayn Rand
-like pronouncements. John Galt
might have written much of Chapter 10, for example. Still, the reader who stays the course will learn a great deal from this book."
goals like deterrence
and rehabilitation
toward a focus on justice and individual rights and responsibilities. It was praised for its summary of the role of private contributions to the criminal justice system, such as witness testimony and the bail bondsman
system. It was also praised for applying economics, including incentives analysis, to the study of law.
had found that gun control
s tend to increase crime, and saying too little about the problem of determining optimal restitution amounts in cases of homicide
, rape
, and other violent crimes and in cases of obstruction of justice
. One critic wrote, "To Serve and Protect draws cartoon images: the market is a resourceful Roadrunner, who at every turn defeats a Wile E. Coyote government capable only of colossally complicated and corrupt schemes that are doomed inevitably to fail." The book was also criticized for sometimes failing to use the latest data available, for being too quick to attribute facts to the statist nature of the justice system rather than to rent-seeking by lawyers, for being silent on the role of faith-based
and other voluntary, nonprofit entities in a privatized system, for ignoring the impact that full restitution could have on investment in private defense against crime, and for its dull prose. It was also criticized for not adequately addressing criticism of private prison
s and of firms such as the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Bruce L. Benson
Dr. Bruce L. Benson is an American academic economist who is widely recognized as an authority on law and economics and a major exponent of anarcho-capitalism legal theory. He is DeVoe L. Moore Professor and Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University, where he serves as Chairman...
about private policing, private prosecution
Private prosecution
A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual or private organisation instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state...
, and other market-based methods of providing criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
. Benson traces the history of government's escalating involvement in criminal justice over the past centuries in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and argues that it has resulted in overpriced, low-quality service that does not adequately address the needs of communities and crime victims. He argues for parole bond
Parole bond
A parole bond is a deposit of money or property made to the government as surety that a paroled prisoner will not violate the terms of his release. The prisoner may fund the bond himself; or he may borrow from friends or family; or he may obtain the services of a bondsman, in exchange for a fee...
s, restorative justice
Restorative justice
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims, offenders, as well as the involved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or punishing the offender...
, shifting toward a criminal justice system that resembles the civil tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
system, and other reforms. The book is written in a dogmatic style; one reviewer notes, "His writing is heavy going in places, drifting off into Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
-like pronouncements. John Galt
John Galt
John Galt was a Scottish novelist, entrepreneur, and political and social commenter. Because he was the first novelist to deal with issues of the industrial revolution, he has been called the first political novelist in the English language.-Life:Born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland, Galt was...
might have written much of Chapter 10, for example. Still, the reader who stays the course will learn a great deal from this book."
Praise
The book was praised for its "trove of compelling observations, anecdotes, and conjectures," for its "nearly encyclopedic" coverage of private techniques in criminal justice, and for elevating the discussion of criminal justice to a higher philosophical plane by redirecting the reader's attention away from social engineeringSocial engineering (political science)
Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
goals like deterrence
Deterrence
Deterrence may refer to:* Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons* Deterrence , a theory of justice* Deterrence , a psychological theory...
and rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
toward a focus on justice and individual rights and responsibilities. It was praised for its summary of the role of private contributions to the criminal justice system, such as witness testimony and the bail bondsman
Bail bondsman
A bail bond agent, or bondsman, is any person or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused in court...
system. It was also praised for applying economics, including incentives analysis, to the study of law.
Criticism
It was criticized for being profoundly dogmatic rather than scholarly and open-minded, assuming that government inefficiencies and scandals are inevitable, downplaying the potential for private firms to commit some of the same abuses that the government commits, painting an overly positive picture of vigilantism, presenting conjecture and assertion as fact, failing to address the disparity between anti-crime resource expenditures directed toward the poor and the rich, promoting potentially divisive gated communities and private streets, falsely stating that researcher Philip J. CookPhilip J. Cook
Philip J. Cook is a professor of public policy, sociology, and economics at Duke University in the United States. His research has focused on firearms and crime, as well as alcohol abuse and related problems....
had found that gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
s tend to increase crime, and saying too little about the problem of determining optimal restitution amounts in cases of homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, and other violent crimes and in cases of obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
. One critic wrote, "To Serve and Protect draws cartoon images: the market is a resourceful Roadrunner, who at every turn defeats a Wile E. Coyote government capable only of colossally complicated and corrupt schemes that are doomed inevitably to fail." The book was also criticized for sometimes failing to use the latest data available, for being too quick to attribute facts to the statist nature of the justice system rather than to rent-seeking by lawyers, for being silent on the role of faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
and other voluntary, nonprofit entities in a privatized system, for ignoring the impact that full restitution could have on investment in private defense against crime, and for its dull prose. It was also criticized for not adequately addressing criticism of private prison
Private prison
A private prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency...
s and of firms such as the Pinkerton Detective Agency.