ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the justification, definition, measurement, evaluation and prescription of punishment. It examines the philosophical question "Why Punish." The book also examines a convention and posits arguments that challenge that convention and expand the conversation. It reviews the classic philosophies of deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution. The book addresses the question "what is punishment. It investigates how much we punish according to the scope and severity of penal activity. The book explains conventional indicators of scope based on prison, probation, parole, and jail populations. It also addresses how the "what works" question and answers are somewhat removed from this understanding. The book also explains how this question and its answers have played out historically and in the current evidence-based culture. It provides specific recommendations for research and policy, and discusses research and policy proposals that take us out of the recidivism/effectiveness vortex.
