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76 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 684 (1985)
Social Inequality and Crime Control

handle is hein.journals/jclc76 and id is 696 raw text is: 0091-4169/85/7603-684 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 76, No. 3 Copyright @ 1985 by Northwestern University, School of Law Printed in U.S.A. SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND CRIME CONTROL* DAVID F. GREENBERG** RONALD C. KESSLER*** COLIN LOFTIN**** I. INTRODUCTION Almost all quantitative research on the determinants of varia- tion in the allocation of public resources to crime control is done within the framework of either rational public choice theory or con- flict theory. The rational public choice theory is rooted in notions of economic efficiency, social consensus, and relatively conflict-free democratic political processes. The conflict theory views conflicting interests, exploitation, and differences in power as the essence of politics. Rarely, however, has research tested the relative ability of the two theories to explain political outcomes. This study is an at- tempt to carry out such a test by considering the sources of variation in the size of urban police departments over time. A. PREVIOUS WORK IN THE RATIONAL PUBLIC CHOICE TRADITION Rational public choice theory assumes that communities allo- cate resources to law enforcement agencies (and other government activities) on the basis of majority rule and rational individual choice.' The theory envisions authorities making decisions accord- * Part of this research was funded under Grant No. 80-IJ-CX-0062 from the National Institute of Justice. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Justice. We thank Sally K. Ward and Reynolds Farley for providing us with software and technical assistance used in calculating the measures of income inequality. We also are grateful to Brian Wiersema for assistance in other phases of the data collection and analysis. Authors' names are listed alphabetically. ** Professor of Sociology, New York University. Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1969. *** Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan. Ph.D., New York Uni- versity, 1975. **** Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Maryland. Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 1971. 1 See, J. M. BUCHANAN & G. TULLOCK, THE CALCULUS OF CONSENT (1962); A. DOWNES, AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF DEMOCRACY (1957); Bergstrom & Goodman, Private 684

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