Download From Medieval Justice to Modern Crime Prevention: Deterrence & Rational Choice Theories and more Slides Criminology in PDF only on Docsity! Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories docsity.com 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” docsity.com 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 docsity.com Elaborations of Deterrence • Specific v. general • Punishment v. non-punishment • Absolute v. restrictive • Formal v. informal sanctions docsity.com Specific v. General Deterrence
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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? docsity.com 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? docsity.com 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 docsity.com 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 docsity.com Rational Motivations for 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 docsity.com Rational Choices? • A man beats his wife during an argument • A father rapes his stepdaughter • A man drives home drunk from a bar docsity.com 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 docsity.com 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 docsity.com Is there a place for morality in rational choice theory? docsity.com
