In his 36 years as a senator, Joe Biden sponsored or cosponsored 341 bills affecting crime and law-enforcement policies, with 42 becoming law. His widely-discussed role in passing major 1994 legislation funding more police officers, more prisons and more crime-prevention programs was consistent with support for other measures that gave rise to a reputation as "tough on crime."
In 1980, Biden urged the Carter White House to combat the illegal drug trade with tougher enforcement and sentencing. In the 1990s Biden also pushed to try juvenile criminals arrested for violent crimes in the adult judicial system.