The Legislation of Crime and Delinquency: A Review of Theory, Method, and Research

Abstract

Nearly all of us will agree that “one case does not make a sample.” Nonetheless, there is a tendency to disregard this advice when it comes to studying the historical origins of laws concerning crime and delinquency. This is understandable since it is generally acknowledged that the micro- and macro-level processes surrounding the origins of many such laws are so complex that they can only be examined case by case (e.g., Hall, 1952; Chambliss, 1964). But such an approach creates problems: although any single case study is clearly inadequate to support generalizations, strong theoretical inferences frequently are drawn, often violating the constraints adopted with more conventional data. This essay reviews a number of North American case studies in an attempt to clarify the theoretical and methodological limitations, prospects, and findings of the literature on criminal lawmaking.I introduce this review by contrasting the two principal theoretical perspectives that guide such studies. I then discuss problems of evidence related to these rival theories, using an analysis of the origins of theft laws as my example. Following this, I review a large number of empirical studies concerned with the origin of laws that I have grouped into three categories: (i) delinquency and probation; (ii) alcohol and drug abuse; and (iii) prostitution and sexual psychopathy. Finally, I examine the implications of these and other legislative studies for future work in this important area of research.