Criminal Law: Analysis of the Violent Crime Control Act

This essay provides an overview of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also known as the Crime Bill. It discusses the historical context, including President Johnson's initiatives to combat crime and the subsequent legislative efforts in the 1990s. The essay focuses on the key provisions of the Act, such as the 'three strikes' law and increased funding for law enforcement, and examines the various opinions regarding its effectiveness. It highlights the criticisms, including the failure to address racism and the increase in the federal prison population. The essay concludes by questioning the Act's impact on crime rates and the need for rehabilitation programs, emphasizing the focus on punishment over prevention. The analysis draws on various sources to support its arguments and offers a comprehensive understanding of the Act's implications on the US criminal justice system.

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
CRIMINAL LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CRIMINAL LAW
In the year 1964, opinions were made by the United States regarding the starting of
intervention by the administration for preventing the crimes. After President Johnson being
elected in the year 1965, he determined for punishing the criminals. The Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs and administration of Law Enforcement Assistance was created by him for
assisting the law enforcement with the deterring of crimes (John, 2019).
Various laws were passed in the 1990s in order to prevent the crime rates with an attitude
of tough on crimes, the most important law being passed in that period is, the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act, 1994; which was presented as tough as well as smart on the
crimes.
A lot of things were implemented by the provisions of this Act which includes the “three
strikes” that is a life sentencing of mandatory nature; spent money in hiring a total of 100,000
new officers of police and it also a $6.1bn was dedicated to the prevention programmes.
There are a number of opinions regarding the effect of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act, 1994; few have opined that the Act has not been so effective and a few
were of the opinion that some amplified effects are there which are under the way already.at the
time of passing of the Bill, the same has been termed as the smartest and the toughest crime Bill
in the history. However, the Bill faced a lot of criticism as it failed in redressing the issue of
racism and also it added the law of three strikes (www.genfkd.org, 2019). The sentencing
guidelines of the Crime Bill 1994, applies only to those who are charged with the crimes of
federal nature. After 22 years of the passing of the Bill, the population of the federal prisons
increased more than double. The time when the Bill was passed, a rate of the violent crimes in
the United States already declined. The Act of 1994 intended of putting more cops, trained
polices and even lawyers for investigating the crimes, imposing of prison sentences of more

2CRIMINAL LAW
tough nature and providing money for the extra prison (www.bbc.com, 2019). However, even
after 20 years have been passed after the passing of the bill, there remains a doubt regarding the
effectiveness of the Bill as it has only increased the number of prisoners in the prison and not
preventing the rate of crime in the United States (www.legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com,
2019).
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 1994 which has been termed as
the smartest and toughest Crime Bill in the history focuses on the punishment of the prisoners.
The provisions of this Act which includes the “three strikes” that is a life sentencing of
mandatory nature and therefore the offenders of the crimes are being punished rigorously under
this Bill of 1994. The Act of 1994 intended of putting more cops, trained polices and even
lawyers for investigating the crimes, imposing of prison sentences of more tough nature and
providing money for the extra prison. No provisions were there for the process of rehabilitation,
therefore the policies of the get tough Bill cannot work alongside the process of rehabilitation.

3CRIMINAL LAW
Reference
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com. (2019). Effect of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Retrieved 10 August 2019, from https://legal-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Effect+of+the+Violent+Crime+Control+and+Law+Enf
orcement+Act+of+1994.
John, A. (2019). A Timeline of the Rise and Fall of 'Tough on Crime' Drug Sentencing.
Retrieved 10 August 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/a-
timeline-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-tough-on-crime-drug-sentencing/360983/.
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 1994
www.bbc.com. (2019). Why is Clinton crime bill so controversial?. Retrieved 10 August 2019,
from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36020717.
www.genfkd.org. (2019). Tough on Crime: The United States Packed Prisons - GenFKD.
Retrieved 10 August 2019, from http://www.genfkd.org/tough-on-crime-united-states-
packed-prisons.
www.legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com. (2019). Effect of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Retrieved 10 August 2019, from https://legal-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Effect+of+the+Violent+Crime+Control+and+Law+Enf
orcement+Act+of+1994.