Deterrence Theory and Criminal Justice

Flashcards covering the theoretical foundations, terminology, requirements, and evaluations of deterrence theory as discussed in the lecture.

Who wrote "On Crimes and Punishments" and what was the specified purpose of punishment?

Cesare Beccaria; the purpose of punishment is to instill fear in other men.

Who wrote "Principles of Penal Law" and what was the purpose of punishment?

Jeremy Bentham; the purpose of punishment is to provide individuals with the incentive to obey the law.

Upon which theoretical foundation is deterrence theory built?

Utilitarianism; it assumes people weigh the costs and benefits of their actions.

What is General deterrence?

The capacity of a law to deter individuals from engaging in the prohibited conduct.

What is Specific deterrence?

The capacity of a law to deter an individual who already has been penalized for the prohibited behavior from repeating it.

Define the "Channeling effect" in the context of law.

A change in behavior resulting from a law.

How is the Absolute deterrent effect calculated?

By weighing the number of prohibited acts prevented by a law against the number of prohibited acts that otherwise would have occurred absent that law.

What is the Marginal deterrent effect?

A comparison made between the effectiveness of one type of threat and the effectiveness of another type of threat.

What occurs in Partial deterrence?

The threat of a legal penalty results in a change in behavior, although the modified behavior remains unlawful.

What does a Deterrence curve plot?

The number of individuals deterred at increasingly severe levels of punishment.

List the seven requirements for Deterrence mentioned in the notes.

Communication, Certainty, Severity (proportionality), Speed (celerity), Stigma, Capacity, and Procedural justice.

Which requirement for deterrence is considered the most important?

Certainty (the probability that violating a rule will result in a penalty).

What were Beccaria's "three Cs of punishment"?

Certainty, celerity, and severity.

What did Wolfgang find regarding chronic offenders and crime rates?

$6\%$ of offenders are chronic offenders and they engage in $50\%$ of all the crimes.

In Zimring and Hawkins' critiques, what is "Aunt Jane's Cold Remedy"?

Also known as spuriousness or regression fallacy, it is the idea that fluctuations in crime may be independent of efforts to decrease it.

What is the "Fallacy of the Warden's Survey"?

Also known as sampling bias, it refers to the error of only asking criminals if they were deterred, which might lead to the conclusion that deterrence doesn't work.

What is the "Error of diminishing returns" in deterrence?

The idea that most individuals are already deterred by existing punishments, and increased severity may not affect those who continue to engage in criminal behavior.

According to Chambliss, what are Instrumental offenses?

Offenses committed for material gain that are carefully planned, such as robbery, burglary, or auto theft, making them more easily deterred.

According to Chambliss, what are Expressive offenses?

Offenses based on emotional reactions where consequences are not weighed, such as murder in the heat of passion or narcotics addiction.

What are the specific processing statistics for 100 street crimes?

Only $8$ out of $100$ result in an arrest; of those $8$, $4$ are prosecuted, and only $1$ out of the original $100$ ends up incarcerated.

What is the approximate recidivism rate for offenders released from prison?

$$67.5\%$$

Which of Immanuel Kant's principles is violated by general deterrence, according to objections?

The categorical imperative, which states that an individual should never be used as a means to an end.

According to Jeremy Bentham, if society cannot encourage citizens to be law-abiding, what should be the final goal regarding punishment?

Society should provide for the least severe punishment necessary to provide for deterrence; anything beyond that is a waste of resources.