The chapter discusses crime trends in Florida, and concludes that the State's crime problem is not new, and that crime rates have been falling throughout the past decade and imprisoned felons are now serving a larger proportion of longer sentences. The second section describes the State criminal justice system from the perspective of offenders, an approach which illustrates how interdependent the system is and why dramatic but simple solutions are not likely to yield expected or maximum benefits. Florida's proposed prison building program, which many see as a solution to the crime problem, is analyzed from this perspective. Prisons concentrate public funds on the punishment of established criminals when the most pressing need in the State might be a surer punishment of offenders at the beginning of their careers. In view of cost-effectiveness arguments, the authors recommend trading prison beds for the development of more intermediate sanctions. 3 figures, 1 table, 8 notes, and 8 references