1. Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories

2. 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”

3. A Reform Movement The Enlightenment Depart from “supernatural” theory
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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Elaborations of Deterrence
Specific v. general
Punishment v. non-punishment
Absolute v. restrictive
Formal v. informal sanctions

7. Specific v. General Deterrence

8. 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

9. Absolute v. Restrictive Deterrence
Absolute deterrence
Abstention
Restrictive deterrence
Less frequent
Less severe
Displacement

10. 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?

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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

14. From Deterrence to 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Rational Choices? A man beats his wife during an argument
A father rapes his stepdaughter
A man drives home drunk from a bar

18. Crimes that are not rational?

19. Cheating on Exams
How would we control cheating using a rational choice perspective?
Assumptions about cheating
Interventions to prevent cheating

20. 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

21. 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

22. Is there a place for morality in rational choice theory?