Although it took me a long time to get through, it was well worth the time spent. It's an impassioned and convincing argument about the importance of building strong law enforcement systems in developing countries that actually support the poor rather than working against them as so often the case. Haughen argues that whilst it is good to invest in education, health and other indicators of poverty, it is futile when those efforts to can be thrust from under you by violence and corruption. He argues that much of the corruption that exists in developing nations is a result of colonialism whereby law enforcement was primarily to protect the interests of the elites other than protecting the common people. A very important book. ( )

This is an incredibly important book, but the first half is very difficult to read. It caused me to look at how to help the global poor in a whole new way. It also gave me a whole new appreciation for those who serve in law enforcement in the U.S. ( )

This was a phenomenal book arguing that the end of poverty requires the end of violence. If you think this is one of those 'anti-war' books, you are thinking too narrowly. A lot of what Haugen and Boutros are looking is violence within a given society which aggravates the suffering of the poor. Often things like rape, murder, abuse are illegal, but if the victim is poor, they have no hope of recourse through the legal system. There are systemic problems that allow for the poor to be continually victimized in much of the world (lack of resources for law enforcement, lack of training, lack of access to legal services, ineffective implementation, etc). Because Haugen's work with IJM he has heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story to tell.

But ultimately this isn't a depressing book but a hopeful one. Haugen and Boutros examine how first-world nations transformed in the last hundred years from mob rule (i.e. the American West) and oppressive military rule (Meiji era Japan) to societies which strive to protect and serve its most vulnerable members (yes I know this still isn't perfect, but we are a long way from the violence of yesteryear). Really thought-provoking stuff! ( )

If you're interested in the causes of global poverty and want to know more about the issues effecting them, this book is a must read.

To summarize, barely anyone knows that THE most significant issue affecting people in absolute poverty is security. Through facts, stories, and surveys, this book demonstrates how billions of poor people around the world live outside the rule of law. The criminal justice system doesn't work for them. More often than not, it actually actively works AGAINST them. Everything they may scrape together and build to get themselves out of poverty can easily be swept away in a single instant like a plague of locusts when they are arrested so that the local police can collect bribes, left to rot in packed holding room for years as their very existence is forgotten by prosecutors or local bullies can take their land, resources or lives with impunity with almost zero chance of punishment.

The book gives a great background on WHY the criminal justice system in so many countries is the way it is (colonial criminal justice systems that were designed to protect the rulers, not the common people) that were never changed after the colonial powers left. The book also gives some hope for change by pointing to our own history where our cities were plagued by even worse police corruption and yet still managed reform and change.

Again, if you're interested in the issue of global poverty, I can't recommend this book strongly enough. ( )

The first parts of this book are very harrowing and not easy to read as they present truths of those living in extreme poverty and violence and their quest for justice in a world that doesn't seem to notice them much less care about their plight. The author then goes on to give recommendations for dealing with the violence people are living in as a means to also help alleviate poverty. ( )

I'd like to start by saying that the first few chapters of this book are definitely not for the faint-hearted. It paints a stark and dark picture of violence around the world.

Chapters 1 and 2 talk about extremely disturbing stories of abuse on women / girls and some statistics about violence against women across the world. There are sections that talk about forced labor and illegal land seizures. And then there is heart-rending story of Caleb and Bruno who are victims of abusive police.

It is not until I got to chapter 3 that I found out why the authors had titled the book as 'The Locust Effect'. This chapter first describes the 'Locust attack' in the 19th century affecting the Mid-West US. It then uses this incident to show how our efforts to improve the economy and reduce poverty without getting a hold on controlling violence 'seems like a mocking'. The drop in GDP due to violence clearly elucidates the cost of violence across the developing countries in the world.

The next chapter talks about more forms lawlessness in the African countries.

Chapter 5 talks about the most fundamental systems - the public justice system. The authors breaks them into three segments - the Police, the Prosecutors and the Courts. The break-down makes it very clear that all these segments hold equal responsibilities when it comes to reducing crime and violence in a society.

Chapter 6 is about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and it's acceptance and inclusion into the judicial system, although the book clearly explains that due to the lack of enforcement of these rules, the first two steps of identification of these rights and their acceptance by the justice system were mostly in vain.

I'm from India and probably that's the main reason why I could associate very closely what is written in chapter 7. The reasoning given by Kirpal Dhillon about failure of Indian police was simply brilliant. It was surprising to find out that we're still using the Indian Police Act which was formulated in 1861.

Chapter 8 talks about how the wealthy use private security forces to provide to themselves security and why the rich prefer the public safety system to remain in a broken state.

Chapter 9 shows that US and the World Bank are helping the developing countries with foreign aid, but (and there's that 'but') it also shows that the investment priorities need to be revised.

The quiz in the beginning of chapter 10 took me by surprise. This is the first chapter that glimpsed a ray of positive hope towards improvement. It was nice to know that the current developed countries, once upon a time were, gangsta places.

The last chapter is about how IJM (International Justice Mission) is acting as a catalyst to bring by the change that is absolutely required for developing countries and eventually the entire world. The work done by IJM, without a spliter of doubt, is thoroughly inspiring and I would not have minded if the chapter lasted a few more pages.

The book is impressively documented with links to actual studies.

I'm from India and I would like to end my review with a joke:

The Police and the Lawyers are there to protect the good guys from the bad guys!

That's it.. that IS the joke! Hoping for a change soon around the world. ( )

This is an excellently written and persuasive book about how protection against violence is needed by the world's poor before any more meaningful inroads can be made by other aide programs. While some of the early chapters are gruesome, they seem necessary to convey the urgency and primal nature of the situation. Later chapters do provide hope and some templates for achieving change. ( )

Why the end of poverty requires the end of violence