The 1970's ended with a pervasive sense of crisis, with the Conservative opposition proposing tough law and order measures. The Thatcher government introduced legislation to extend prison privatization, give more resources to the police, build prisons, deal with juvenile offenders, and make families and communities more self-reliant. Criminological research during the 1980's focused on such themes as realism, accountability, civil liberties, crime prevention, community safety, victims, financial management and accountability, effectiveness and efficiency, privatization, and centralization. Research was conducted in an environment of public concern over and official scrutiny of the police, prisons, and courts. Further, due to a rapid rise in the crime rate during the last half of the 1980's, crime, explanations of crime, and the criminal justice system's performance were covered extensively in the media. The message of criminological research during the 1980's was that activity did not necessarily equate with influence. Just as consumerism and a deliberate opening up of criminal justice markets to new providers reduced the influence of traditional criminal justice professionals, more ideological criminal justice policies and a new management confidence among professionals reduced the influence of criminologists. 180 references