Discussion 1: Research and Policy Empirical research has the potential to have profound impact on crime prevention and control. Such research can lead researchers to abandon ill-conceived policies and facilitate the development of new policies that may more effectively control crime or have a less disparate impact upon different populations. For example, research on the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity, established by the U.S. Sentencing Commission in the 1980s, reveals how these sentencing schemes have had a disproportionately negative impact on minority communities. As new research highlights how attempts to address a crime problem may be creating new problems, legislators must reexamine intent and outcome for existing laws.