Johnson Administration
President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first to call for the "War on Crime" about 50 years ago. Since then, prisons, jails, and law enforcement institutions has had a increasing role in inequality in America. He passed the Law Enforcement Assistant Act as a response to the threat of future disorder which allowed a direct role for the federal government in local police operations, court systems, and state prisons. One of the main points of his administration was the influx of $400 million through the Safe Streets Act to start the War on Crime. The LEAA was the agency that would administer this funding.
Nixon Administration
The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration was established in 1968 under the Johnson administration but most of the effects of this act was during the Nixon administration. It was a section of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act that was meant to prevent crime, ensure the greater safety of the people, and improve law enforcements efforts at all levels of government. The LEAA promoted the goal of higher conviction rates as the main goal to reduce crime levels. Nixon also tripled the federal government's law enforcement budget by the end of his first term and federal aid to state and local law enforcement grew from 60 to almost 800 million. Much of this budget provided financing for closed-circuit video surveillance, computerization of records, and police training. By the time the LEAA was abolished in 1981, they had granted over 10 billion in federal grants to state and local governments which is equivalnt to about 25 billion today. It had also funded nearly 80,000 crime control projects and awarded over 155,000 grants in total.
When it was first enacted it provided $25 million to carry out action grants. Each state outlined different programs and improvements that they would be focusing on.
Some examples include
Congress found that crime is essentially a "local problem that must be dealt with by state and local governments". Therefore, they outlined their policy to assist state and local governments and stated that its purposes are to
When it was first enacted it provided $25 million to carry out action grants. Each state outlined different programs and improvements that they would be focusing on.
Some examples include
- California: to allocate more than $800,000 to improve prevention and control of civil disorders
- Georgia: to behin a pilot program of work release for inmates of correctional institutions
- Illinois: to study approaches to controlling organized crime and conduct drug abuse education
- Indiana: to work on reducing racial tensions, strengthening narcotics control, and supporting defense of indigents
- New York: to improve police patrol and combat organized crime
Congress found that crime is essentially a "local problem that must be dealt with by state and local governments". Therefore, they outlined their policy to assist state and local governments and stated that its purposes are to
- encourage state and units of general local government to prepare and adopt comprehensive plans based upon their evaluation of problems of law enforcement
- authorize grants to states and units of local government in order to improve and strengthen law enforcement
- encourage research and development directed toward the improvement of law enforcement and the development of new methods for the prevention and reduction of crime and the detection and apprehension of criminals
Administration: 2.5 million
Expansion of FBI Training: 3 million National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice: 3 million Discretionary Action Grant Funds: 4.35 million Academic Assistance: 6.5 million Planning Grants to States with 40% to Local Governments: 19 million Action Grants to States with 75% to Local Governments: 24.65 million |
Crime Statistics and Information: 2.0%
Construction: 2.9% Research and Development: 3.5% Organized Crime Control: 3.9% Community Relations: 4.1% Presecution, Court, and Law Reform: 5.5% Precention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency: 7.0% Correction and Rehabilitation including Probation and Parole: 8.4% Crime Prevention and Public Education: 10.5% Detection and Apprehension: 11.2% Upgrading Law Enforcement: 18.5% Riots and Civil Disorders: 22.5% |
Reagan Administration
When Reagan took office, he issued one of the most influential executive orders in the 20th century. His renewed War on Drugs would end up causing many social and economic issues in the long run, especially in the 21st century. At the time, it was suprising because drug crime was declining and people did not see it as an issue. Although some rich white neighborhoods were prospering, the Reagan administration wanted to make it known that there was a massive drug problem in black neighborhoods. The War on Drugs was not based on actual drug use but rather the perception that was created by the media, that drug use was a national crisis.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) created enough media attention about the spread of crack cocaine and drug dealing that it gave the War on Drugs enough attention throughout America. He eventually signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act that now required a 5 year minimum sentence for any dealer or user caught with five grams or more of crack. However, the catch is that this mostly affected black and poor people; white and rich dealers and users who typically live in areas with fewer police, had to be caught with 500 grams to recieve that same sentence. This act created an even greater problem with the exponentially increasing prison population. Drug convictions increased from 15 to 148 per 100,000 in 16 years. In hindsight, many believe the War on Drugs was a massive failure that lead to overcrowded prisons and almost no change in rates of drug abuse.
In the late 1970s, many states conviction rates were around 130 to 260 per 100,000 but by the 1990s, rose to over 600 per 100,000. The prison population increased fourfold between 1980 and 2000 due to stricter laws and more harsh sentencing, not due to the inrease in crime. This refers to the iron law of prison population where longer sentences and more people being convicted contributes to the overcrowding in prisons. Drug offenses accounted for about 66% of the inmate population. Although both white and black people were consuming drugs at a similar rate, black dealers and users were being convicted more often. In 1996, about 66% of crack users were white but 84.5% of convicted defendents were black. High prison populations caused even more problems for taxpapers due the costs of a single incarcerated person per year.
Many of these problems also stemmed from racial issues. There were false assumptions about dangerous, black, inner-city neighborhoods that affected policies such as housing and drug policing. There was a study based on the National Longitudal Youth Survey that found that young black males were more likely to commit crimes than young white men but when they removed the unemployment aspect of the data, the "racial differences of violent behavior dissappeared". For this reason, we find that there is more violent crime in black neighborhoods only because there are more unemployed people in black neighborhoods.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) created enough media attention about the spread of crack cocaine and drug dealing that it gave the War on Drugs enough attention throughout America. He eventually signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act that now required a 5 year minimum sentence for any dealer or user caught with five grams or more of crack. However, the catch is that this mostly affected black and poor people; white and rich dealers and users who typically live in areas with fewer police, had to be caught with 500 grams to recieve that same sentence. This act created an even greater problem with the exponentially increasing prison population. Drug convictions increased from 15 to 148 per 100,000 in 16 years. In hindsight, many believe the War on Drugs was a massive failure that lead to overcrowded prisons and almost no change in rates of drug abuse.
In the late 1970s, many states conviction rates were around 130 to 260 per 100,000 but by the 1990s, rose to over 600 per 100,000. The prison population increased fourfold between 1980 and 2000 due to stricter laws and more harsh sentencing, not due to the inrease in crime. This refers to the iron law of prison population where longer sentences and more people being convicted contributes to the overcrowding in prisons. Drug offenses accounted for about 66% of the inmate population. Although both white and black people were consuming drugs at a similar rate, black dealers and users were being convicted more often. In 1996, about 66% of crack users were white but 84.5% of convicted defendents were black. High prison populations caused even more problems for taxpapers due the costs of a single incarcerated person per year.
Many of these problems also stemmed from racial issues. There were false assumptions about dangerous, black, inner-city neighborhoods that affected policies such as housing and drug policing. There was a study based on the National Longitudal Youth Survey that found that young black males were more likely to commit crimes than young white men but when they removed the unemployment aspect of the data, the "racial differences of violent behavior dissappeared". For this reason, we find that there is more violent crime in black neighborhoods only because there are more unemployed people in black neighborhoods.
(Both values indexed to 1993 dollars)
In 1980, the cost per inmate was $20,489
In 2000, the cost per inmate was $18,627
Even thought the cost per inmate per year decreased, the number of incarcerated individuals increased from 23,918 to 121,428
In 1980, the cost per inmate was $20,489
In 2000, the cost per inmate was $18,627
Even thought the cost per inmate per year decreased, the number of incarcerated individuals increased from 23,918 to 121,428
Clinton Administration
Bill Clinton signed into the law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that was first written by Senator Joe Biden. This lengthy crime bill is the largest in United States history. It implemented a "three strikes" mandatory life sentence for repeat offenders, money to hire 100,000 new officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons, $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs, and expansion of death penalty eligible offenses. Violent crime was "supposedly out of control in the US and the administration needed a way to take solve this problem. The homocide rate was increasing by 5% each year and peaked in 1991 with 9.8 deaths per 100,000.
This bill only applied to those who are chared iwth federal crimes and in the 22 years after this bill was passed, the federal prison population doubled. This also refers to a part of a bill that overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Before, prisoners would be able to recieve Pell Grants for higher education while they were incarcerated. Now, "no basic grant shall be awarded under this subpart to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal of State penal institution". Much of the provisions in this bill are seen as more punishing rather than rehabilitative or preventative measures.
Listed are some significant provisions of the bill
Listed are some of the amounts approved by Congress to fund provisions of this bill
Listed are some Grant Programs from the Act for the years 1995-2000
By the time Clinton left office, federal, state, and local, expenditures on corrections had reached $57 billion a year, 8 times the amount in 1980. Also, the Personal Responsibility Act cut many rights for people on federal assistance buy limiting recipients to a maximum of 5 years of benefits to compel those who recieved assistance to work. Naomi Murakawa, the author of The First CIvil RIght: How Liberals Built Prisons in America, insinuated that the Clinton Administration and its policies have played a primary role that helped prison building during the 1980s to the present day due to the problem of increased incarceration rates and overcrowding.
This bill only applied to those who are chared iwth federal crimes and in the 22 years after this bill was passed, the federal prison population doubled. This also refers to a part of a bill that overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Before, prisoners would be able to recieve Pell Grants for higher education while they were incarcerated. Now, "no basic grant shall be awarded under this subpart to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal of State penal institution". Much of the provisions in this bill are seen as more punishing rather than rehabilitative or preventative measures.
Listed are some significant provisions of the bill
- Banned the manufacture of 19 military-style assault weapons, and certain high-capactiy ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds
- Expansion of the Federal death penalty to cover about 60 offenses
- Authorized the adult prosecution of those 13 or older with certain serious violent crimes and triples the maximum penalties for using children to distribute drugs in or near a protected zone, i.e., schools, playgrounds etc...
- Created mandatory life imprisonment without possibility of parole for Federal offenders with three or more convictions for serious violent felonies or drug trafficking crimes
Listed are some of the amounts approved by Congress to fund provisions of this bill
- $2.6 billion for BRI, DEA, INS, US Attorneys, and other Justice Department components, as well as Federal Courts and Treasury Departments
- $1.2 billion for border control, criminal alien deportations, asylum reform, and a criminal alien tracking center
- $1.8 billion to reimburse states for incarceration of illegal criminal aliens
Listed are some Grant Programs from the Act for the years 1995-2000
- $200 million for states to upgrade criminal history records
- $1 billion for state and local drug task force efforts
- $8.8 billion for community policing programs
- $592.9 million for extracurricular activities for at-risk youth
- $8 billion to build and operate correctional facilities as an alternative to incarceration
- $1 billion for supervision and specialized services to offenders with rehabilitation potential
- $243 million to help improve overall development of at-risk youth
- $3 million to establish a National Domestic Violence Hotline
- $90 million to coordinate new and existing crime prevention programs
- $1 billion to support police and prosecutor efforts and victims services in cases involving sexual violence or domestic abuse
By the time Clinton left office, federal, state, and local, expenditures on corrections had reached $57 billion a year, 8 times the amount in 1980. Also, the Personal Responsibility Act cut many rights for people on federal assistance buy limiting recipients to a maximum of 5 years of benefits to compel those who recieved assistance to work. Naomi Murakawa, the author of The First CIvil RIght: How Liberals Built Prisons in America, insinuated that the Clinton Administration and its policies have played a primary role that helped prison building during the 1980s to the present day due to the problem of increased incarceration rates and overcrowding.