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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2024

John Hagan
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Abstract

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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 14 , Issue 3: Contemporary Issues in Law and Social Science , Spring 1980 , pp. 603 - 628
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 Law and Society Association.

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