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CRIME AND PUBLIC OPINION

A Political Issue

Public concern about crime grew in the late 1960s. In 1968 Richard Nixon and George Wallace made crime a major part of their campaigns for the presidency. This concern about crime continued in the 1970s. Public-opinion surveys repeatedly listed it as one of the top public priorities.

An Increase in Crime Rates

Rates for many crimes did increase in the late 1960s and early 1970s. According to the FBI, the rate of violent crimes increased from 364 per 100,000 population in 1970 to 581 in 1980, an increase of 60 percent from 1970 to 1980. The rates for property crimes went from 3,621 in 1970 to 5,319 in 1980, an increase of 47 percent from 1970 to 1980. The increases in crime rates during the 1970s occurred mostly in the first four years and the last two years of the decade. Many experts blamed part of the increase in crime on the increased leniency of the criminal justice system and criticized the new rights granted criminal defendants by the Supreme Court. Some authorities pointed to the continuing high levels of poverty in many areas particularly in the central cities, where crime rates were highest. Finally, many pointed to what they saw as the decline of important social institutions, particularly community and the family among black and other minority groups, and increased permissiveness toward drug use, welfare, and sexual behavior. One reaction to the increasing crime rates was increasing imprisonment of convicted criminals. More convicted criminals were sentenced to time in prison, judges sentenced them to longer terms, and parole boards were more reluctant to release inmates from prison on parole. Federal and state prison populations grew from 196,000 in 1970 to 369,000 in 1981. It is not clear, however, that increasing imprisonment had the desired effect of reducing crime rates.

Decriminalization?

Even as they got tougher on violent offenders, Americans began to rethink their attitude toward drug crimes. The use of marijuana, in particular, was common among young people and seemed to have few ill effects for society. Even first ladies Betty Ford and Rosalyn Carter admitted that their children probably tried marijuana. Rather than impose criminal penalties for marijuana, in 1973 Oregon decided to impose a fine. Seven other states soon followed Oregon's example, but the decriminalization movement faded as the government in the 1980s reasserted the necessity of a "war on drugs,"

Rethinking Domestic Violence

The women's movement also redefined the boundary between social convention and criminal behavior. Domestic violence, especially wife beating and child abuse, often went unnoticed by the public. An unspoken tolerance for these acts and fear, guilt, and shame on the part of the victims often kept domestic violence from public attention. In 1976 the FBI noted that many crimes of this nature went unreported; they added that because victims often felt afraid and ashamed, rape also was underreported. As batteredwomen's shelters opened in the mid 1970s, however, the public became less likely to blame the victim of domestic violence or rape and increasingly subjected the perpetrators to criminal prosecution.