Measuring and Explaining Legislator Crime Control Ideology

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Abstract
Despite the key role of state legislators in the formation of criminal justice policy, little is known about the beliefs and ideologies of legislators on issues of crime causation and control. This research, following the work of Bynum, Greene, and Cullen (1986) in Illinois, is based on a survey of New York State legislators. Using factor analytic techniques, scales representing basic dimensions of legislator crime and justice ideology were developed and then related to a number of demographic, political, and related background characteristics of respondents. The findings indicated that legislator attitudes toward crime and criminal justice issues are complex and diverse. Further, several variables, particularly political party and race, were strong predictors of these crime and justice ideology scales.

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