ABSTRACT One of the most contentious questions in contemporary penology is why the use of imprisonment started rising rapidly in the United States in the early 1970s. The two dominant perspectives on the subject focus on crime's public salience and how it relates to violent crime and political elites, respectively. The first perspective holds that incumbent political elites promoted tougher criminal justice policies in the name of a public concern about violent crime that they previously aroused themselves, in order ultimately to serve narrow interests. The second perspective argues instead that politicians in office toughened criminal justice policies in response to a legitimate public disquiet about violent crime. Based on an unprecedented comparison of trends in violent crime and public opinion over the period 1960–1980, this article suggests that both perspectives misread how the politics of crime and criminal justice unfolded around the time mass incarceration was taking off. Research on the subject should henceforth shift its focus onto perspectives that do not treat majority public opinion as a key element in criminal justice policy-making.

中文翻译：

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既不是骗子也不是吹笛者：暴力犯罪、公众情绪和美国大规模监禁的政治起源

摘要当代刑罚学中最有争议的问题之一是为什么在 1970 年代初，监禁的使用在美国开始迅速上升。关于该主题的两种主要观点分别关注犯罪的公共显着性及其与暴力犯罪和政治精英的关系。第一种观点认为，现任政治精英以他们先前引起的公众对暴力犯罪的关注为名，推行更严厉的刑事司法政策，以最终为狭隘的利益服务。第二种观点认为，在职政客加强了刑事司法政策，以应对公众对暴力犯罪的合理担忧。基于对 1960 年至 1980 年期间暴力犯罪和舆论趋势的前所未有的比较，这篇文章表明，这两种观点都误读了犯罪政治和刑事司法在大规模监禁兴起之时是如何展开的。此后，对该主题的研究应将重点转移到不将多数公众舆论视为刑事司法政策制定关键要素的观点。