A Suitable Amount of Crime Author:Nils Christie A Suitable Amount of Crime looks at the great variations between countries in what are considered "unwanted acts", how many are constructed as criminal and how many are punished. It explains the differences between eastern and western Europe, between the United States and the rest of the world. The author laments the size of prison populations ... more »in countries with large penal sectors, and asks whether the international community has a moral obligation to "shame" states that are punitive in the extreme.« less