Nixon's Tough-On-Crime Policy

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Introduction During the past 50 years, the United States and the United Kingdom both similarly developed a new strategy to address rising crime rates, this is commonly referred to as the “tough-on-crime” approach. In the United States, many tough-on-crime policies were initiated and promoted by President Richard Nixon during the late 1960s and early 1970s, with his declaration of the “War on Drugs”. While in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher significantly contributed to introducing tough-on-crime policies during the 1980s, emphasizing a conservative approach to law and order. Through the use of comparative research methods, this essay will explore the differing reasons for the extreme increase in incarceration rates within …show more content…
However, the justification for many of these policies is rooted in classicism. Developed by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century, classicism suggests that criminal behavior is a result of free will, and introduces the concept of the rational criminal. Elaborating on the concept of the rational criminal, it suggests that individuals will only deter themselves from crime if the punishment outweighs any possible benefit (Newurn, 2017). This classicist perspective on crime tends to overlook any complexities, such as societal influences on criminal behavior, allowing its use to justify tough-on-crime measures without hesitation or consideration for additional factors. During the Nixon administration, several policies were enacted to create deterrents, such as the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which included provisions for mandatory prison sentencing and the establishment of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (The Editors of Encyclopaedia, 2024). These measures increased the severity of punishments for offenders, while giving law …show more content…
The United Kingdom, under the leadership of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, faced many issues associated with societal unrest. Margaret Thatcher’s focus on reducing inflation, which reflected the majority of her economic policies, resulted in exceptionally high unemployment rates due to the structural changes in the economy (Farrall, 2015). One notable transformation was deindustrialization, characterized by the decline of traditional manufacturing sectors, which had been previously fundamental to the United Kingdom’s economy. During the Thatcher administration, industries like coal mining, steel production, and manufacturing experienced restructuring and often complete closure (Buiter et al., 1983). The closure of mines and factories resulted in widespread unemployment and economic hardship within the affected communities, specifically areas within the English midlands, South Wales, and central Scotland (Jones et al., 2021). Within the United Kingdom, a correlation is recognized between the rise in unemployment and an increase in property crime rates. Additionally, in many cases, prisons were constructed in the locations where these former industrial sites once stood, suggesting an anticipation of crime within these areas (Farrall et al., 2016). During Thatcher’s time in office, there were many concerns about rising
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