Abstract
Researchers who have examined the historical development of societal responses to crime and criminals have emphasized that opinions concerning “what to do about crime” are inextricably linked to contemporary perceptions of the causes of criminality. Moreover, these causal attributions have shifted across a broad landscape over time. This article examines data from public opinion surveys conducted over the last four decades to assess the nature and extent of changes in the public's attributions of crime causation. The relationship between changing public attributions and shifts in crime control strategy is examined. Variation in causal attribution across socio-demographic characteristics of survey respondents is explored. Directions for the future in terms of crime control policy are discussed as they may be foreshadowed by historical and contemporary assessment of these public perceptions. In addition, suggestions for improvement of the methodology of further research in this ares are offered.
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