Deterrence Theory

Running Head : Deterrence Theory Deterrence Theory and Its Effect on Crime

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The theory that prior knowledge of an appropriate punishment for committing a crime will deter a human being from doing so has been around , in a general sense , for centuries . To what extent this theory is still viable is explored through examination of statistics and general morality changes in modern society Deterrence Theory and Its Effect on Crime

Since time began the human population of earth has produced its share of crimes , defined by

a governing authority , and criminals . For nearly that long , those sitting in judgment theorized that a system of deterrents would prevent future crimes from occurring per the Classical theory of criminal justice . Thousands of years after its formation , has society cut down on crime due to deterrence ? Has the system been proven ineffective or has the percentage of crimes compared to the population remained the same , or lessened ? In attempting to answer these questions I will first turn to the origins and evolution of Classical deterrence theory

There are two principal types of deterrents (Best , Luckenbill , 1982 Specific deterrence is aimed at the criminal himself the threat of some form of punishment acts as sufficient motivation to avoid committing a crime . Most of us learn this principle as infants our mothers teach us that if we lie or cheat or steal , we can expect some sort of punishment as price . General deterrence works on the criminal 's peers . By publicly showing the effects to one person of committing a crime (being shamed and shunned by peers , incarceration , loss of familial support , the rest of society will take heed and be deterred from following the same path This principle is illustrated in 17th century America when criminals were branded or ed to wear a large letter sewn to their clothing signifying their crime

Specific deterrence has been in place since the recorded beginning of time . The first such reference was made in the Bible , in Deuteronomy 17 :12-13 , when the courts declared that anyone not paying heed their edicts be sentenced to death

Deterrence has survived in many forms since Biblical days . In 1764 Cesare Beccaria published his declaration that all human beings are rational , possessed of free will and make decisions based purely on whether or not the outcome will be pleasure or pain (Keel , 2005 Beccaria was a proponent of a type of Rational Choice law of criminal theory advocating that a society create laws and establish appropriate punishments for breaking them in to keep citizens compliant (Winfree Abadinsky , 2003 . The threat of punishment was theoretically , enough to tamp down on a human 's desire to commit a crime

The colonials who established America were greatly influenced by not only the Law of England system of justice but the strict enforcement of Biblical tenets . They were fond of putting criminals in stockades in the public square , often with some sort of added token to denote their crime . The infamous scarlet...