NCJ Number
171284
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A panel discussion on the changing nature of crime, criminals, and crime problems begins with a discussion of the Crime Commission report of 30 years ago and continues with comments on data use and misuse, the relationship between gangs and guns, drug law offenses and drug policy, victims, mental illness, rhetoric and the media, and case processing.
Abstract
Jeffrey Fagan notes that the Crime Commission report focused on many of the same crime problems that a contemporary commission would also address; that violence against women is increasingly recognized as an important crime problem; and the crime trend, especially in violent crime, has been upward. Panelists note the increase in data and expressed concerns about how these data are interpreted and misinterpreted, used, and misused. Others note the major projects to address gangs, the relatively new use of semiautomatic pistols by juveniles, differences in the levels of drug law offenses 30 years ago and today, current limitations on judicial discretion, and the increasing attention to community policing. Jeffrey Fagan concludes by calling for honest conversations about what works and what does not work and about what is and is not cost-effective.