Explaining Federal Crime Control Policy: Punctuated Equilibrium Theory
<p>If crime rates could explain the observed increase in federal crime legislation and spending, then one would expect continued elevated levels for both throughout the remainder of the 20th century. By 1980, the violent crime rate in the United States had risen by over 250%, <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/john-pfaff/locked-in/9780465096916/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">peaking</a> in 1991 at nearly 400% of its 1960 level. However, federal monetary assistance did not remain at elevated levels immediately following the 1970s — there was no significant increase until 1994. What helps explain this short, punctuated increase in federal attention to crime control from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s? Further, what can explain other short, punctuated increases in federal attention to crime control, even after violent crime decreased to historically low levels from the mid-1990s forward?</p>
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