Crime

Attitudes toward crime and punishment have changed with societal shifts in American culture. Changing perspectives on addiction, sexual assault, and other behaviors have sparked changes in legislation, judicial attitudes, and sentencing guidelines. The articles in this collection map evolving attitudes toward what can be conceived of as criminal and how these conceptions mirror larger social movements over time. In many cases, the heavy hand of the law or, alternatively, the lukewarm reaction to certain kinds of criminal activity has resulted in epidemics that continue to the present day.