But They All Come Back (Urban Institute Press)

As our justice system has embarked upon one of the greatest social experiments of our time-the expansive use of prisons as our response to crime-we have forgotten the iron law of imprisonment: they all come back. In 2002 alone, more than 630,000 individuals left federal and state prisons-compared with the 150,000 who made a similar journey 30 years ago. Sadly, in the intense political debate over America's punishment policies, the impact of these returning prisoners on families and communities has been largely overlooked. In But They All Come Back, Jeremy Travis continues his pioneering work on prisoner reentry. He describes the new realities of punishment in America and explores the nexus of returning prisoners with seven policy domains: public safety, families and children, work, housing, public health, civic identity, and community capacity. Travis proposes a new architecture for our criminal justice system, organized around five principles of reentry, that will encourage change and spur innovation. It is a Herculean synthesis and an invaluable resource for anyone interested in prisoner reentry and social justice