The 1994 Crime Bill

Crawford: When violent crime was at its worst, Congressional action helped get the country back on track

By the early 1990s, the U.S. had experienced dramatic and unprecedented surges in crime, with the violent crime rate up 470% from 1961 and the murder rate up 92% from that year. 

Life in American cities was more dangerous than ever, and punishment was not fitting the crimes. While the median sentence for murder was 15 years, the median time served was only 5.5 years. The median sentence for rape was five years, but the median time served was a paltry three.

Overall, violent criminals served, on average, 37% (2 years, 11 months) of their sentenced time. Forty-four percent of Americans said there was an area near where they lived that they would be afraid to walk alone at night.

In response to widespread pressure from law enforcement and residents, on Sept. 13, 1994, former president Bill Clinton signed the bipartisan Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill, this omnibus package was the most serious federal effort to reduce violent crime in U.S. history.

The bill injected billions into hiring police, created a grant program to encourage state adoption of Truth in Sentencing laws, added prison capacity, and criminalized gang membership — among other provisions.

Support for the bill was considerably higher among Black Americans (58%) than among White Americans (49%) — likely because Black Americans bore the brunt of violent crime victimization and homicide then and now. 

After passage, violent crime and homicide rates ticked downward for the next two decades. The results were particularly acute for Black violent crime victims. From 1993 to 2005, the rate of Black non-fatal violent victimization dropped by more than 50%. While it would be foolish to attribute all of this to the 1994 Crime Bill alone, there is good reason to believe specific policies were influential. 

Economist Steven Levitt completed the most comprehensive analysis of the crime decline that began in the mid-1990s and found four significant factors of impact. Two of them — the increased number of police on the streets and increased prison populations — can be directly tied to the 1994 Crime Bill.

Evaluations of the bill’s hiring program have found that the program increased the number of officers on the street and reduced crime. These results align with public safety research that has continuously demonstrated that more police means less crime. Analyses of police staffing levels and crime in Florida and New York City found increasing police levels reduced overall crime. Another recent study found each additional police officer prevents 0.1 homicides — an effect that’s twice as large for Black victims compared to White victims.

Harsher punishments and more incarceration likely contributed to the decline because incarceration has a significant incapacitation benefit. While in prison, criminal offenders cannot victimize the public. A review of existing literature by the Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation found that any claims of prison being criminogenic cannot outweigh that incapacitation benefit. One analysis found that incapacitating one high-rate offender prevents, on average, 9.4 serious felonies. Two recent studies from the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that longer sentences reduced recidivism among released federal inmates.

The main criticism of these provisions is that they exacerbated “mass incarceration” —  a genuinely meaningless term that sounds scary but conveys no information. While it is true that U.S. incarceration rates are higher than Western Europe’s, we are not substantially more punitive. What we do have is a much higher rate of gun crime, which necessitates longer prison sentences and more incarceration.

This isn’t to say the bill was perfect, and in the 30 years since it became law, we have found ways to be more targeted in policing and sentencing. Overall, though, the 1994 Crime Bill marked a significant policy accomplishment and helped usher in a 20-year decline in violent crime that yielded fewer victims and more capacity for human flourishing in neighborhoods previously held captive by violence. 

Editor’s note: Joshua Crawford is the director of criminal justice initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity. Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Wellborn: The 1994 crime bill's legacy — 30 years of failure

The 1994 Crime Bill, a misguided policy choice rooted in fear and misinformation, has inflicted irreparable harm on communities nationwide. By prioritizing punitive measures over proven prevention strategies, this legislation has fueled mass incarceration, eroded civil liberties and exacerbated systemic inequalities, all without demonstrably improving public safety.

The architects and advocates of the 1994 Crime Bill, including then-Sen. Joe Biden, sold it as a “tough-on-crime” panacea, promising a safer America. Yet, crime rates had already begun to decline before the bill was signed into law. The actual beneficiaries of this legislation were private prison corporations and law enforcement agencies, which saw their budgets and power explode.

Rather than investing in proven solutions that really make us more secure — such as affordable housing, mental health services, addiction treatment, education, youth mentorship, and diversion programs, we chose a path of punishment and control. This approach has not only failed to make us more stable and safe but has shattered families, destabilized communities and fueled economic inequality.

We all want and deserve to feel secure in our homes and communities. However, the consequences of this failed policy of overcriminalization and harsh punishment are clear. More than 5 million people are under the supervision of the criminal legal system. Nearly 2 million people, disproportionately Black and Indigenous, are living in jails and prisons instead of in their communities, a 500% increase since 1973. 

Many individuals remain incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, including conduct related to marijuana that would not even be considered a crime in dozens of states today.

These individuals often return to communities ill-equipped to reintegrate, and are without affordable housing and an opportunity to make a living wage, thus perpetuating a cycle of crime and recidivism. Everyone deserves a second chance. Yet, overcriminalization has turned minor offenses into felonies, stripping people of their voting rights and employment opportunities. Heavy-handed surveillance has invaded our privacy and fostered mistrust between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to protect.

We need effective, evidence-based strategies that deliver proven solutions. We must acknowledge past failures and build a future based on justice, equity and compassion. This means investing in programs that benefit all by addressing the root causes of crime, such as poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity. It means reforming our criminal justice system to prioritize rehabilitation and second chances so people can return to their families and be productive community members. It means creating a society where everyone feels safe and supported, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

Leading with empathy and envisioning evidence-based solutions is an approach that invites bipartisan support, whether from President Biden — who stands by his son throughout Hunter’s struggles with addiction and challenges within the criminal legal system — or from former president Donald Trump, who signed the First Step Act as a measure aimed at maintaining public safety by reforming federal prisons and harsh sentencing laws to reduce recidivism, and decrease the federal prison population. 

Everyone stands to benefit when our militarized law enforcement and bloated prison industry stop bleeding money away from proven and fair solutions that promote accountability while keeping us all more secure, such as affordable housing, accessible healthcare, living wages, diversion opportunities and addiction treatment.

All Americans want and deserve safety, accountability and justice. We can achieve these goals only by building a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The 30th anniversary of the 1994 Crime Bill is a moment to reflect on the past and chart a new course. Let us commit to a future where we prioritize prevention over punishment, where we invest in our communities, and where everyone has the chance to live a life free from fear and government overreach.

Editor’s note: Christopher A. Wellborn is president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.