NCJ Number
163419
Date Published
1995
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The concept of the political economy of crime associated with James Q. Wilson's thinking is examined with respect to the reasons the policies of increased imprisonment it engendered did not produce the expected impact on crime.
Abstract
Wilson's book "Thinking About Crime" had a major impact on discussions about crime policy and theory. Wilson noted that previous theory and research about crime had been done primarily by sociologists intent on finding basic causes of crime, which they most often located in conditions of social and economic disadvantage. He concluded that efforts should shift to reducing or containing crime through a more selective use of imprisonment to deter and incapacitate offenders. This new political economy of crime continues to dominate politics and policies, although the increase in criminal violence despite escalating severity of punishment has clearly contradicted its expectations. The new political economy of crime failed because it ignored social processes that surrounded the renewed resort to imprisonment as a policy priority. The central failing of this approach involved its deflection of attention from the causal role of social inequality. The new political economy of crime has accompanied an increasing reliance on ideologies and strategies of self-help in response to crime, most significantly involving the acquisition of guns for self- protection. However, this view fails to acknowledge social processes associated with social inequality and the basic causes of crime. A new sociology of crime and disrepute is renewing our attention to the importance of understanding these crime causes and leads to the conclusion that the most direct opportunity to reduce violent crime involves banning the sale of guns and disarming the public. 23 references