Classical theory
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Beccaria: On crime and Punishment (1764)
Justice was chaotic, corrupt; governments
were monarchies (divine right of kings)
Essay was a protest and a blueprint for
government and justice
Advocated: social contract doctrine and
utilitarianism, rationality of man, and the
pleasure/pain principle
Classical (continued)
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He advocated the need for:
Clear criminal laws
Swift and certain punishment
A scale of crimes and punishment
Punishments should be no more severe than
necessary, or they will not be perceived as
just, and the people would revolt
Classical theory (continued)
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People are rational. If they know that
punishment is swift, certain, just, and
sufficiently severe, they will decide to obey
rather than violate the law.
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The crime would not be worth the
punishment. Choices can be controlled by
fear of punishment.
Deterrence research
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Deterrence: a legal threat designed to
prevent/control criminal behavior
Assumes that people are rational, want the
goods and services crime provides, and will
commit crime if they do not fear being
caught and punished
An inverse relationship should exist
between crime and certainty, swiftness and
severity of punishment
Deterrence research (continued)
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Until recently, little research
Deterrence assumed to be true
Two types of research
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objective measure research
perceptual research
Objective measure research
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Compare arrest, conviction and sentencing
data
If these numbers increase, crime should
decrease--people should be deterred
Some research support
However, methodological problems occur
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measurement problems
impossibility of controlling other factors
Objective measures
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Increased patrol: Kansas City Patrol
Experiment--no effect
Aggressive crackdown seem to have an
initial effect, I.e., tough drunk driving laws,
“speed traps” Tends to dissipate over time
if the risk of being caught is small
Deterrence and the death penalty
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Since capital punishment is the most severe,
it should have a deterrent effect
Sellin examined contiguous states with and
without the death penalty, and did not find
an effect
comparative studies--homicide rates
declined in over half of countries when they
abolished the death penalty
Death penalty continued
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Effect of public execution: short-term
decline, then no effect
A study by Ehrlich claimed a deterrent
effect, but no other research has found
support for his conclusions
Murder might not be a good example for
showing a deterrent effect, as it often is not
a rational act.
Conclusions
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Little is known about the effects of
swiftness of punishment
Certainty of apprehension (or the
perception of certainty) has the most impact
Severity has no effect unless certainty of
apprehension is increased
Inability to catch offenders, rather than
sentencing, is the weak point of the CJS
Perceptual Research
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Survey technique: ask people if they
believe they will be caught, compare to
their self-report of offending
Law-abiding people believe they will get
caught; criminals estimate the odds are
much lower
Panel studies: those who commit crimes
lower their estimates--experiential effect
Perceptual research (continued)
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Whether individuals are deterred depends
on individual characteristics:
moral development
gender
social class
impulsivity
thrill-seeking/risk taking
Other deterrents
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Informal sanctions
disapproval of family and peers
Feeling of guilt
a moral code
loss of reputation
loss of material goods
Informal deterrents (continued)
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Formal deterrents ranked highest
For more serious crimes, informal deterrents
also important
For less serious crimes, formal deterrents
are the most important
Informal deterrents thought to be the most
important for law-abiding people
If there were no punishment, would you
commit crimes?
Rational choice
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Ask criminals about their choices
do they assess: risk of apprehension,
seriousness of punishment, value of the
criminal enterprise
Would-be offenders might react to the
characteristics of the particular situation in
deciding whether to commit a crime
Rational choice (continued)
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Given enough opportunity, anyone might
commit a crime if motivated. (Magic Mtn)
Some crimes obviously have a rational basis
Professional burglars
Broken windows concept
Such crime might be discouraged
“Target hardening”
Crime prevention
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Home security systems
Dead-bolt locks and steel doors
High intensity street lighting
Neighborhood watch
Risks and effort should outweigh the
potential benefits
Why deterrence is limited
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Many crimes may be impulsive, or
committed under the influence of alcohol
and drugs. Such criminal might not be
rational.
Crimes committed by those who have
nothing to lose
We cannot detect many crimes without a
much more extensive surveillance system