The Toughest Beat: Politics, Punishment, and the Prison Officers Union in California (Studies in Crime and Public Policy)

"The Toughest Beat" by Josh Page is a primer on California politics over the last three decades. While not providing answers for all of the state's economic woes, it is a blueprint for manipulation of voters' opinions and base fears and politicians' reactions in one particular case, criminal justice and prison populations. Financial support for the state's devastatingly-costly prison system at the expense of other core needs; i.e. public education and welfare, is basic to its economic troubles and will continue to contribute to its downward spiral if not adequately addressed. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 23, 2011 that California's overcrowded prisons constitute "cruel and unusual" conditions for the human beings encased in those cells and ordered the release of thousands of prisoners within two years, savvy observers are aware that reform of any kind will remain an uphill battle.Josh Page tells us why and how this state of affairs came to be in his book about the rise of California's powerful prison guards' union (the CCPOA) and of its pivotal role in rallying punitive forces in the Golden State as the U.S. initiated and fought its War on Drugs that focuses primarily on poor people of color. The book helps the reader understand how creating beneficial alliances, seizing windows of opportunity, and astute political maneuvering can make a special interest group a powerful player in the political arena. However, it also offers hope for those concerned about mass incarceration in California and elsewhere in the country. If one understands the genesis of punitive-oriented ideology and practices, one can better begin to devise more successful, humane alternatives.

While the subject matter is the California Correctional Peace Officers' Union, this book is really about how one union was able to create and wield the tools of influence and build one of the most feared political machines in California. The Toughest Beat gave me a unique behind the scenes look at how a special interest took the tactics of strategists such as Saul Alinsky and brought them to life in modern day politics. Much has been made of how much money the prison guards' union contributes to politicians, but this is the first in-depth look at where the union's real power is rooted. Just one example is the author's insight into the union's creation and near absolute control of the Crime Victims United and the Doris Tate Crime Victims. He details how the union adeptly uses these organizations to influence criminal sentencing to create the need for new prison beds while not looking self serving to the general public.If nothing else, I found this to be one of the most comprehensive historical looks at the third largest penal systems in the world. This book is the one-stop-shop if you are looking for the history of the California Department of Corrections. The author did an amazing job of detailing the history of prisons and the prison guard union but he did so in a readable style. If this book were a documentary it would be a Ken Burns mini-series.

Perfect

This is an eye-opening book! I have lived in California for 44 years and had no idea about the strength of the prison officers union. It gives the reader a lot to digest - I find I can read only 10-12 pages in a sitting.

Very clearly researched and organized; essential for understanding the growth of prisons in California and the expansion of incarceration in the entire US.

This book is good, and I got it for a class. However, not all of the text displays properly with Mac Kindle reader's white text on black background feature. Blocks of a few pages spread throughout the book display with white backgrounds and hard to read gray text when using this feature.

What interested me originally was just learning about California's prisons and the officers who work inside them, but then I got into the historical stuff and all of the politics. I think the author really understands that we have to pay attention to how something got the way it is if we want to change it. It's not like you can just come in from the outside or show up in Sacramento and say "fix the prisons." You have to know about the people and the history first. Reading about the union itself was the other great part. Many unions in the US seem to be getting weaker all the time, but the CCPOA is powerful and respected and its members have a strong voice at work at and the capitol. Other unions will want to learn from them, I'm sure.

This book is a must read for anybody who is interested in understanding why the US has incarcerated more people than all the other industrial nation and has any interest in changing that state of affairs. The book is a superbly well researched and well documented description of the California prison system and how it changed from being one of the most progressive rehabilitation oriented prison systems to one of the most punitive. Responsibility for this change rests largely with the prison guards' union - the CCPOA. Page describes how the union became such a powerful political force that no elected official dares challenge it to the point where the CCPOA determines the legislators' decisions on sentencing and parole policies policies rather than lawyers, judges doctors or academic experts. While the book addresses California and the CCPOA particularly, many of the conclusions are applicable to a more generalized view of prisons systems generally.In addition to being informative, this book is extraordinarily well written and spell binding. How often can you say that about a doctoral thesis?