In modern politics, law and order, also known as tough on crime and the War on Crime, is demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through stricter criminal penalties.
The War on Crime has been credited with facilitating greater militarization of police and contributing to mass incarceration in the United States.
Supporters of “law and order”, generally from the right-wing, argue that incarceration is the most effective means of crime prevention. Opponents, typically left-wing, argue that a system of harsh criminal punishment is ultimately ineffective because it self-perpetuates crime and does not address underlying or systemic causes of crime.
To differing extents, crime has also been a prominent issue in Canadian, British, Australian, South African, French, German, and New Zealand politics.
