NCJ Number
213860
Journal
Punishment & Society Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 183-201
Date Published
April 2006
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This essay analyzes changes in public discourses about crime and justice in Spain during its political transition to democracy.
Abstract
Crime was not a major focus of debate during the political transition; however, the absence of public debate did not mean there were no significant changes in criminal justice policies. The first major law approved by the democratic legislature was the Corrections Law; aspects of criminal justice were also regionalized. Other legislation regulated the major police force according to constitutional principles and reformed the Penal Code and jury trials. Although the most dramatic increase in recorded crime occurred between the end of Franco's regime (1975) and the late 1980s, the level of media reporting on crime did not change during this period. It was not until 2002 that a dramatic two-fold increase in crime stories occurred. Reasons for the lack of public debate on criminal justice reforms in the transition period may be due to reformers' preferred focus on civil liberties and fundamental rights. Also, the debates on terrorism, which was perceived by most Spaniards as the most significant problem for Spain, displaced debates about other crime-related issues. The situation changed with the new millennium, however. As the Conservatives started to benefit from their penal policies against domestic abuse and their tough rhetoric against Basque terrorism, the Socialists brought crime to the center in a manner that paralleled that of New Labour in the United Kingdom. The theme of the Socialists has been that crime is increasing, and the Conservatives have not invested sufficient money in law enforcement. Proposed remedies have been to stop lenient sentencing, develop local crime audits, consider crime in urban planning, and adopt "zero tolerance" or "quality-of-life" policing, as well as community policing and victim support services. 4 figures, 7 notes, and 38 references