As crime increased in the 1960's and 1970's, liberal politicians focused on mounting programs designed to increase social and economic equality, as socioeconomic injustice was viewed as a major crime cause. Liberals were also concerned with the rights of the accused and making prisons more humane. Conservative politicians, on the other hand, viewed the crime problem as rooted in the civil rights movement, associated urban disorder, mass protests, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings that restricted police powers. Neither conservative nor liberal political posturing had an impact on the crime problem, particularly among its principal victims, the poor. Debate about crime in the 1980's has focused more on crime victims than on civil disorder and defendants' rights. Both conservatives and liberals can embrace this focus. The most promising approaches for reducing criminal victimizations have involved cooperation between citizens and police in combating neighborhood crime. This emphasis on police-citizen cooperation to increase protection for all citizens, regardless of race or class, may not have a great impact on crime, but it facilitates the development and implementation of promising crime-control programs. Fifty-five references are listed.