Prison by Any Other Name : The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms

With a new afterword from the authors, the critically praised indictment of widely embraced "alternatives to incarceration"

Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data driven surveillance. Extended probation.

These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost effective substitutes for jails and prisons. But in a searing, "cogent critique" (Library Journal), Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law reveal that many of these so-called reforms actually weave in new strands of punishment and control, bringing new populations who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment under physical control by the state.

With a foreword by Michelle Alexander, Prison by Any Other Name exposes how a kinder narrative of reform is effectively obscuring an agenda of social control challenging us to question the ways we replicate the status quo when pursuing change, and offering a bolder vision for truly alternative justice practices. "At once an accessible primer for those newly interested in building alternatives to policing and incarceration, and a wealth of critical insights for seasoned abolitionists seeking to tread carefully through the dizzying terrain of a world turned upside down. . . . [Prison by Any Other Name is] a necessary text for reformers and abolitionists alike" (Brooklyn Rail).