"Get tough" rhetoric became politically potent. Between 1980 and 1988 during the Reagan era, the prison population grew by 90 percent, jails by 110 percent, and the number of probationers by 111 percent, yet the crime rate did not change. The States and the Federal government invested tens of billions of dollars in new prison and jail construction which amounted to a 59 percent spending increase and left little money for preventive approaches. At the recent National Crime Summit, Attorney General Thornburgh dismissed the usefulness of sociological theories and the search for the root causes of crime and emphasized an immediate need to stop the rampant carnage -- a sentiment echoed by President Bush. Yet many prominent politicians of both parties are now voicing interest in sociological theories and long-term, preventive measures; responsible policymakers and citizens cannot afford to ignore the current need for thorough and creative sociological thinking. 32 footnotes