NCJ Number
155357
Journal
Crime, Law, and Social Change Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: (1994-1995) Pages: 239-267
Date Published
1995
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This analysis explores the relationship between long economic cycles and U.S. Federal criminal justice legislation; the time periods chosen for analysis were the period of economic prosperity following World War II and the later period of stagnation and decline, beginning in 1969.
Abstract
The data indicated that the number of Federal criminal justice legislative acts increased significantly during the contraction phase of capitalist development (1968-1987) compared to the period of expansion (1948-1967). The data also supported the hypothesis that the number of all common Federal criminal justice legislative acts during the long wave of decline would be greater than the number during the long wave of expansion. The ratios of Federal criminal justice legislation and common Federal criminal justice legislation to all Federal legislation were greater in the period of stagnation than in the period of expansion. Finally, the results showed that the increases in legislation did not reflect a significant proportional increase in hard to soft approaches to crime. The authors offer these findings as partial support for the theory that American criminal justice can best be understood in terms of its social control function within the capitalist political economy. 6 tables, 6 figures, 48 notes, and 4 appendixes