Tag Archives: deterrence

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Deterrence only works when someone who might have committed a crime chooses not to, because he fears that he might be punished for it. It's impossible to measure how often this happens, but it doesn't take much thought to see that few crimes are actually prevented by deterrence.


The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 4: Deterrence 
Page 4: Measuring Deterrence

NARRATOR

Well, it depends.

Deterrence only works when someone who MIGHT have committed a crime chooses instead NOT to do it, because he fears that he might be punished for it.

Average Joe going “hmm…” and pondering a sack of cash vs. going to jail.

It’s impossible to measure the number of crimes that DIDN’T happen, but it doesn’t take much thought to see that the number of crimes prevented by deterrence has to be fairly SMALL.

Stick figure grinning, ducking, and running off with the sack of cash.

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