The book’s central thesis is that the justice system cannot cope with the rising crime rate and often condemns only the poor. This can happen because the less wealthy segments of the population do not have great opportunities, such as an expensive lawyer. Thus, even if a person is innocent, he still has a high chance of going to jail. This concept of Reiman and Paul remains relevant to this day because the justice system has not changed significantly. Another critical thesis of the authors is that the level of crime depends more on the policy to combat it and on external factors not related to justice (Reiman and Paul). This statement may be true because the criminal’s behavior is a dynamic system of various manifestations of human activity and passivity. This is determined by objective and subjective factors before, during, and after the crime. Accordingly, any reason that is a problem in an individual’s life can push a person to commit unlawful acts.
The authors define the central concept and idea of the book as an attempt to educate the public about what actually causes the failure of the judicial system. In addition, the reasons why the government could not provide its residents with a safe environment are considered. One of the reasons for this is just that some people who should be in prison are released, planting in their place those who could not defend themselves. This is one of the central problems of the sub-system and a derivative of the problems of a society with a stable social stratification. These concepts are explored throughout the book as the authors attempt to explain them and find solutions to the existing problem situations. One of the main concepts that the authors reveal in the book is that gaps in the justice system are beneficial to high-ranking officials. They called this concept Pyrrhic defeat theory, and it is the reason why the authorities do not seek to reform the judiciary (Reiman and Paul). Thus, this led to the fact that the rich sections of society came up with a stereotype that, as a rule, the poor are criminals.
To prove their thesis, the authors use fairly convincing facts. One of these was the given example of a case when justice sought to make sure not that the defendant was guilty but of what their financial situation was. Only after that people began to take any actions aimed at blaming a person. According to the study, the court is more likely to convict people with low social security for a long time compared to the rich (Reiman and Paul). The above facts are evidence that the theory of the authors has a basis. At the same time, the goal of the writers and their central ideology is that justice should be the same for all people.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the book leaves an indelible impression and reveals many factors associated with the injustice of the courts. However, there is a question that the authors leave unanswered. It concerns what prerequisites contributed to this formation of the judicial system and why people do not want to fix it. The work in question is worth attention to and is one of the fundamental books that future workers in the shipping field should study.
Work Cited
Reiman, Jeffrey H., and Paul Leighton. The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. 11th ed., Routledge, 2016.