1911 Triangle factory fire : building safety codes -- 1915 chloroform killer : medical examiners -- 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping and Dillinger robberies : federalization of criminal law enforcement -- 1937 sulfanilamide crisis : drug safety -- 1956 NYC mad bomber : criminal profiling -- 1957 Mafia Commission Apalachin meeting : Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) -- 1962 Harlem heroin epidemic : war on drugs -- 1964 Genovese murder witness scandal : 911 emergency system -- 1965 Watts riots & Texas sniper : SWAT and the militarization of police -- 1967 Calabrese intimidation : WITSEC -- 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and Cuyahoga River fire : Environmental Protection Agency -- 1972 TWA bombing and hijackings : airport security -- 1980 killing of Cari Lightner : drunk driving -- 1981 Reagan assassination attempt : insanity defense -- 1983 Beirut barracks bombing : internationalization of the FBI -- 1983 Thurman beatings : domestic violence -- 1986 Leicestershire murders : DNA -- 1989 Schaeffer stalking murder : stalking offense -- 1993 Polly Klaas abduction : three-strikes sentencing -- 2001 9/11 attacks : War on terror -- 2001 Enron scandal : financial crimes.
Summary:
Many aspects of modern life, from drug safety to fire codes, have come not from the sustained efforts of government bureaucrats but rather from the flash and sizzle of a tragic crime and the public outrage it provokes. This book is about those trigger crimes and how they have changed our world.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.