Epidemic of Violence: New Ferment Over Crime and Punishment (From Criminal Violence: What Direction Now for the War on Crime? P 4-7, 1992, Keith Melville and Betty Frecker, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 166122
• Author(s): K Melville; T Piazza
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 4 pages
• Corporate Author: Public Agenda
• Sale Source: Kendall/ Hunt Publishing Co; National Issues Forums
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Since 1960, the number of violent crimes committed per capita in the United States has increased by more than 450 percent, 20 percent of Americans say they have been victimized at least once, and the fear of violent crime has caused people to make dramatic changes in the way they live.

Abstract

Tough crime control measures were implemented in the 1980's, and many States passed laws mandating prison terms for criminals convicted of certain crimes. Experts, however, disagree about the purpose of the prison system and about whether deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, or punishment should guide sentencing decisions. Experts also have differences on how to keep first-time offenders from becoming career criminals. Debate over the 1990 Crime Control Act highlights differing ideas about how to address the difficult problem of violent crime. In dealing with violent crime, basically three courses of action are available: (1) impose tough sanctions on criminals; (2) emphasize causes of crime rather than symptoms; and (3) focus efforts on the relatively small group of high-rate offenders who probably cannot be rehabilitated or deterred by the threat of prison. 2 figures