deterrence and rational choice theories. medieval criminal justice trial by ordeal –forced...
TRANSCRIPT
Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories
Medieval Criminal Justice• Trial by ordeal
– Forced confessions
• Severe public punishment– Burning (hell on earth)– Mutilation (body subordinate to soul)– “Ritual of a thousand deaths”
A Reform Movement
• The Enlightenment– Faith in rationality, social contract theory
• Depart from “supernatural” theory– The Classical School of criminology is born
• Assumptions about human nature– Rational, autonomous, hedonistic, calculating
A Theory of Deterrence
• On Crimes and Punishment, Beccaria (1764)– Punishment protects the social contract– Punishment should fit the crime, no more
• Underlying theory– Prevention through deterrence is the primary
justification for punishment
• Condemned by the Catholic Church
Principles of Deterrence
• To deter, punishment should be:– Certain
• To increase fear of consequences
– Swift• To make association with punishment
– Severe enough to outweigh the pleasure of crime • Any more is “tyrannical,” inefficient
Elaborations of Deterrence
• Specific v. general
• Punishment v. non-punishment
• Absolute v. restrictive
• Formal v. informal sanctions
Specific v. General Deterrence
Punishment/Non-Punishment Stafford and Warr (1993)
• Personal experience with punishment
• Personal experience avoiding punishment
• Vicarious experience with punishment
• Vicarious experience avoiding punishment
• Determines the deterrent effect
Absolute v. Restrictive Deterrence
• Absolute deterrence– Abstention
• Restrictive deterrence– Less frequent– Less severe– Displacement
Empirical Research
• There is moderate support for certainty, little to none for severity
• Why does certainty seem to work better than severity? What does this tell us about how offenders think?
Formal v. Informal Sanctions
• Informal = unofficial punishment– Disapproval from significant others– Feelings of remorse, guilt, shame– Expands the range of negative consequence
• Informal sanctions enhance formal sanctions– But not for everyone, why?
In and Out and Back In Favor
• Deterrence theory fell out of favor in the 1800s, replaced by positivism
• Deterrence reemerged in the late 1960s as a rationale for punishment– Coincided with a renewed emphasis on
offender deterrence and retribution within the criminal justice system
Practical Limits of Deterrence• Penalties often learned after arrest
• Underestimate risk of being caught
• Clearance rates are generally low
• Crime displacement may occur
• Rational abilities may be impaired
– Drugs, alcohol, passion, mental disorder
• Some people have little to lose
From Deterrenceto Rational Choice
• Deterrence theory focuses on the effect of punishment on criminal choices
• Rational choice theory focuses on the effect of opportunity on criminal choices
Rational Choice Theory• Crime benefits the offender
– Crime brings pleasure
• People’s rationality is bounded– We gather, store, & use information imperfectly– We tend to focus on immediate gains, not long-
term costs• Offenders focus on situational opportunities
– Criminals are opportunistic
Rational Motivationsfor Crime
• To obtain something• To obtain pleasure• To obtain sex• To obtain peer approval• To prove toughness• To escape negative or unwanted situations• To assert dominance or get one’s way in a dispute• To settle a grievance, revenge
Rational Choices?
• A man beats his wife during an argument
• A father rapes his stepdaughter
• A man drives home drunk from a bar
Crimes that are not rational?
Cheating on Exams
• How would we control cheating using a rational choice perspective?
– Assumptions about cheating
– Interventions to prevent cheating
Assessment of Choice Theory• Opportunity rather than punishment
– Offenders tend to ignore long-term costs
• Situational factors rather than enduring motivational factors– Assume the presence of criminal motivation– Focus on offenders’ assessments of their
immediate situations
Implications for Policy• Situational crime prevention
– Reduce crime by blocking opportunities
• Consistent with the CJ emphasis on responsibility and punishment– All crime is based at least in part on a choice
• Attempt to make criminal choices less attractive by reducing opportunities
Is there a place for morality in rational choice theory?