Non-Criminal Justice Correlates of U.S. Crime Rates and Implications for Eliminating Mass Incarcetation

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Understanding why US crime rates rose in the 1970s and then dramatically declined over the past 20 years has tended to focus on the role of criminal justice policies in such trends. This panel will assess the impact of non-ciminla justice factors with a specific focus on economic and other "social stress" factors that are related to crime rates. The implications for justifying a reduction in mass incarceration will also be addressed. The three panel participants in this panel are Richard Rosenfeld, James Austin, and Maribeth L. Rezey. David Greenberg has agreed to serve as the discussant.

Sub Unit

• Area IV. Correlates of Crime / 12. Poverty and Structural Inequalities

Individual Presentations

• The Influence of Economic Factors on Crime Rates and Consequences for Reducing Mass Incarceration - James Austin, JFA Institute

• The Uniqueness of Macro-Level Trends in Child Victimization: Do Declines in Child Victimization Mirror Declines in Violent Crime More Generally? - Maibeth Rezey, Loyola University Chicago

• Crime and Inflation in US Cities - Richard Rosenfeld, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Matt Vogel, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Timothy McCuddy, University of Missouri - St. Louis

Discussant

• David Greenberg, New York University