Citation

Lafree G. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 1999; 25: 145-168.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Annual Reviews)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The United States in the 1990s has experienced the greatest sustained decline in violent crime rates since World War II-even though rates thus far have not fallen as rapidly as they increased during the crime boom of the 1960s and early 1970s. I review a set of exogenous and policy-related explanations for the earlier crime boom and for the crime bust of the 1990s. I argue that our understanding of crime trends is hampered by a lack of longitudinal analysis and by ahistorical approaches. I identify a set of questions, concepts, and research opportunities raised by taking a more comprehensive look at crime waves.

Language: en