Chapter 7 Crime Control through Legislation

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 Legislative Bans A common legislative response to certain social problems is to ban it We have banned Certain guns and gun-related products Various types of drugs

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 Where There’s a Demand, There’s a Supply Crash course in basic economics Where there is a demand, there will be a supply Who cares? As long as demand is not targeted, efforts to restrict supply won’t succeed

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 Gambling and Prostitution Efforts have been made to ban gambling, in response to 19 th -century lottery corruption Organized crime Police corruption Did it work? No! Almost all states have banned prostitution Has prostitution gone away? Of course not Commonalities When social ills such as these are criminalized, they are not consistently prioritized by the justice system (i.e., inadequate and partial enforcement)

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Prohibition Prohibition is cited most frequently in support of critics’ arguments that banning products/substances doesn’t work Modest reduction in alcohol consumption Black market

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Gun Bans We are a gun-toting society Approximately 200 million guns in circulation Two types of gun bans stand out Federal legislation Gun Control Act of Violent Crime Control Act Citywide gun bans Has federal legislation worked? Many say no, partly because the guns it targets are rarely used in crimes What about citywide bans? Little research is available Research that is available is not conclusive

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Drug Bans America has taken a “supply-side” approach to drugs This consists of Interdiction Eradication Do drug bans work? No! Black markets Adverse effects on inner city communities Disproportionate number of minorities going to prison Violence tied to drug selling Reduction in number of positive adult male role models Corrupting influence on law enforcement Public health consequences Potency of drugs Costs of treating addicts and responding to drug-related violence and death

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Gun Control Gun control includes Altering gun designs Regulating gun transactions Denying gun ownership to dangerous persons Buybacks Limiting the “right to carry”

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 Altering Gun Designs Gun manufacturers have been encouraged to improve gun designs, such as by Including indicators as to whether a weapon is loaded Installing trigger locks Incorporating personalized gun technology Effect on crime? Probably none because Improved gun designs are mostly intended to reduce accidental shootings Firearms are exempt from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 Regulating Gun Transactions People who can’t buy guns, according to the Gun Control Act of 1968, include Minors Adults under indictment or who have been convicted of a felony People convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence Illegal aliens People confined because of mental disorders Others If we regulate gun transactions, will gun violence decline? Probably not, because The secondary market is pervasive ATF is understaffed and can’t possibly inspect all licensed firearms dealerships frequently enough

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 Denying Gun Ownership to Dangerous Persons The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1994) was responsible for background checks Effectively created a waiting period Did Brady work? Prohibited thousands of people from buying guns Effects on crime unclear, according to a number of studies Why was Brady not a resounding success? Not all states were bound by it Printz v. United States Act was short-lived (expired in 1998)

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12 Buybacks Some states have experimented with gun buy-back programs Do buy-backs affect crime? Studies seem to say no Why? Short-lived Can always buy more guns Token reward for turning in a gun Buy-back participants are at a low risk of offending

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 The Right-to-Carry Controversy Some states allow people to carry concealed weapons John Lott’s book, More Guns, Less Crime, makes a case for universal concealed weapons laws Lott showed deterrent effect in “shall issue” states Others have severely criticized Lott’s research Some studies show increases in crime in right-to-carry states!

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 14 Sex Offender Laws Sex offenders are among the most persistent offenders Two popular approaches have been used to address crimes committed by sex offenders Megan’s law Requires registration Jessica’s Law GPS monitoring of sex offenders Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act Buffer zone laws

Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2 nd ed. Worral © 2008 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 15 Laws Aimed At Contemporary Problems Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Targets corporate accounting fraud Section 906 certification CFO or CEO signs off on SEC filings Critics say it duplicates existing law The Patriot Act Detentions Improved intelligence gathering Military tribunals Does it work? How can we know?