Brendon Mcconney
Criminology Theory
4/15/2023
Introduction
I finally settled on the Deterrence theory as my theory of choice. According to the deterrence theory, hedonistic and rational individuals will be discouraged from committing crimes if they are aware that they will be punished and that the punishment must be certain, which means that it is highly likely that the individual who is committing the crime will be apprehended and punished, Swift indicates that the punishment must be administered quickly in order to be effective; prolonging the punishment would have the opposite effect. Severe implies that the punishment must correspond to the offense and should not be excessively harsh in order to have a negative impact. The deterrence theory
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But assumptions two and three pose more of a challenge. It is assumed that everyone will feel threatened by the punishment for the offense, however this is not always the case. Being arrested and spending time in jail or prison is a way of life for some people. Additionally, data indicates that a significant portion of arrestees are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of their infraction, which is why people do not always make reasonable decisions. The article goes into great detail about the state of deterrence in the twenty-first century by giving examples and historical information to help the reader understand the overall significance of the …show more content…
Over the years, deterrence has evolved and improved, having a significant impact on society. There are two types of deterrence: general and specific. The goal of general deterrence is to prevent society as a whole from committing crimes by penalizing an offender. To "scare" society away from crime, in other words, the punishment is being used as an example. Programs like "scared straight" initiatives and boot camps for juvenile offenders continue to rely on the deterrence idea.
References
QUACKENBUSH, S. (2011). Deterrence theory: Where do we stand? Review of International Studies, 37(2), 741-762. doi:10.1017/S0260210510000896
Deterrence theory - Māra Lustes blogs | Māris luste. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://marisluste.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/deterrence-theory.pdf
Morgan, P. M. (2017, July 27). The concept of deterrence and deterrence theory. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from
While many opponents argue the economics of the issue, they fail to acknowledge that the main goals of punishment are to correct behavior that is deviant from the law and to prevent similar incidences from occurring. Without capital punishment, the culprits would not have to confront the potential of death, meaning that the marginal cost of violent crime would be diminished. Therefore, capital punishment is an effective method to deter
The next goal of deterrence is that imprisonment is not so much a deterrent for the offender rather for others in society who are thinking of committing crimes and the fear of prison should deter them from going through with their actions (Sykes, 2007). The last goal of deterrence, imprisonment will keep offenders away from society thus they are not able to prey on the community (Sykes, 2007). The last justification for imprisonment is reform. The use of reform as a justification for imprisonment is based on the idea that prisons can eradicate the causal factors of crimes within an individual and imprisonment can be used as a mean to keep the offender long enough in order for that goal to be accomplished. Based on the entirety of the book, the ground punishment seems to be more closely aligned with the New Jersey State Prison in the 1950s.
Deterrence is future oriented to prevent crimes. Deterrence has two types general and specific. General is an individual punishment to dissuade others from committing crimes and specific is an individual being punished for additional
9. Punishment is the foundation of the deterrence theory (Smith, 2009: Lucker and Osti, 2001: Smith & Travis,
“Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy….. the fear to attack” (55:09). This is the quote used by Dr. Strangelove himself to define deterrence. This lines up with Schelling’s definition which is, in simple words, prevention of actions by fear of consequences (Schelling, p. 71). Another common theme in this movie is Brinkmanship, which Schelling defines as “the creation and deployment of a problematic threat.
This is the belief that criminal sentences should be designed to protect society by removing dangerous offenders from the community. It is closely aligned with imprisonment and, in some cases, capital punishment (Legal Information Institute, 4). The idea is that if dangerous offenders are removed from society, they will be unable to harm others. Supporters of incapacitation argue that it is necessary to protect society from dangerous criminals and that imprisonment is the most effective way to do
The classical theory of crime says that people make rational choices when they commit crimes. “Individuals have the will and rationality to act according to their own will and desires. Individuals will calculate the rationality of the crime based on the benefits of the crime versus the consequences of the crime” (Robinson, 2014). This theory discuses that how people think about the negative and positive outcomes before they commit crime. Even though they realize it is not right, they still continue to commit illegal offence because they believe that what they are doing is for the greater
Whether or not the United States will succumb to it will depend on whether groups, bureaucracies, and individual policymakers can find a means of restoring a viable equilibrium among threats, core values, and the exercise of power. ”17 This infers Leffler’s criticism of exerting national security policy on unmitigated threats, and the effect of core values on the policies; overall, the opinions remain
I think general deterrence is important because it can help prevent people from committing crimes or make people stop doing the crimes they've been committing. General deterrence can also help people get back on their feet and eventually lead a normal, healthy life despite their past. It's important because it not only stops crime or prevents it but it also can repair the life of the person who was caught up in
The deterrence theory suggests that “the severity of criminal sanctions dissuades other potential offenders from committing crimes out of fear of punishment. ”4 That is applicable to the individuals that are punished and to people in the community. Nevertheless, prison’s effectiveness is often questioned as an effective deterrent to crime. Studies have shown that longer sentences have a small effect on whether offenders commit crimes or not, and the National Academy of Sciences determined that “insufficient evidence exists to justify predicating policy choices on the general assumption that harsher punishments yield measurable deterrent effects.
Deterrence and the Death Penalty: The Views of the Experts. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 87(1), 1. doi:10.2307/1143970 This article was written by Michael L. Radelet and Ronald L. Akers. They both consulted experts on criminology and criminal behaviour to evaluate the effectiveness of the Death Penalty.
The main purpose for our criminal justice system should be to stop future crime. General deterrence would be a good way to set an example to communities who disobey the law. Allowing bystanders to see the punishments of crime will instill fear into them, causing them not to repeat the crime they witness. Specific deterrence allows for criminals to still be in society, but every time they think about doing something illegal they will have a negative feeling. These method focusses on educative function allowing people to learn from their mistakes and preventing further complications.
General and Specific deterrence have good and bad effects on citizens. It prevents crime and some cases and fuels the rage in some. General deterrence focuses on preventing the crime before it happens. The thought of spending life in prison for committing a murder is very scary to me. You would think that could deter criminals from committing that crime.
H., Zhang, Q., Masui, Y., & Lee, Y. W. (2009;2008;). Historical beliefs and the perception of threat in northeast asia: Colonialism, the tributary system, and china-japan-korea relations in the twenty-first century. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 9(2), 245-265. doi:10.1093/irap/lcn028 Similar to Moon and Lee, the authors Gries, Zhang, Masui, and Lee approach the political issues between Japan, China, and Korea through a historical context. However, these four authors conducted a survey study of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese university students to determine whether or not “beliefs about the past” affect policy preferences. The 2009 study gives a more recent gauge of foreign policy for this region.
There is a worldwide trend in the use of penal imprisonment for serious offenses as capital punishment has been renounced by an increasing number of countries. Harsh punishments include capital punishment, life imprisonment and long-term incarceration. These forms of punishments are usually used against serious crimes that are seen as unethical, such as murder, assault and robbery. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals and ensure justice is served. Opposition towards harsh punishments have argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness because they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease recidivism rates and do not provide rehabilitation.