The near hegemony of conservative crime control policies is reinforced by a public idea or narrative about crime that citizens find persuasive: “Getting tough” with predatory offenders reduces lawlessness. Progressives have long criticized such ideology, but they have been less successful in advancing ideas capable of directing an alternative policy agenda. For three reasons, we suggest that social support may serve as a public idea that can help organize a progressive approach to crime control. First, the idea that we should increase social support to at-risk youths, families, and communities is good criminology because empirical evidence shows that social support is inversely related to individual offending and to macrolevel crime rates. Second, the claim that social support is beneficial makes sense because it resonates with Americans' personal and imagined experiences. Third, social support leads to specific policies that are humane and efficacious—that is, that will improve the lives of those at risk for crime and that will increase the safety of the public.
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