Reply #239: Actually the crime bill was successful in other parts but the

[Jennicut]

assault weapons ban did little to reduce crime. Adding more cops and yes, even more prisons led to an overall decrease in crime. http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/LevittUnderstandingWhyCrime2004.pdf

Whether or not we should be imprisoning so many young African American males without dealing with the root causes of the crimes they commit is a good question. But the ban on assault weapons definitely made little effect on crime.