ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines some of the most important trends in criminalization and punishment over the past three decades with a key emphasis on macro state-level trends. It provides an introduction to the broad scope of collateral consequences. The book describes how terms of incarceration affect housing insecurities, which they conceptualize as a continuum ranging from frequent residential movement to homelessness. It focuses specifically on the consequences of housing and public assistance restrictions, which typically apply only to those convicted of drug offenses. The book also focuses on institutional implications with contributions on jails, community corrections, and institutional corrections. It then provides a nice summary of efforts to "raise the age" (RTA) at which youth are considered "adults" and subject to criminal justice instead of juvenile justice processing.