Deterrence Theory Analysis

According to the Unit 5a lecture by Dr. Hoffmann, the Deterrence Theory is the fear of being punished by the criminal justice system will play a part in deterring the engagement of illegal activities. The fear of punishment will outweigh the potential benefit of the behavior (Hoffmann, Unit 5a Lecture). The College of Charleston is an open campus so it is prone to a lot of illegal drug activities. The selling of prescription drugs of all forms is one of them. The lecture states that there are necessary conditions for punishment to deter crime. These are swift, certain and severe. Swift is the fear that if one breaks the law, their punishment would soon come after. As I mentioned before, CofC’s illegal selling of prescription drugs is something you hear about your freshmen year before you even fully commit to the college. I remember my first semester at the college, I was living in College Lodge and a guy who lived under me was known for having a lot of prescription drugs that he sold. One kid he sold to became very sick and ended up exposing the guy. The guy then began to expose all of those he had sold to and those individuals ended up having to go before the Dean of Students. He was kicked out of the …show more content…
One factor in particular is my status in society. I am an African American woman who is a first generation college student and soon to be graduate. My family has always instilled in me the importance of education and bettering myself. I was always taught to set an example for my younger siblings as well as my community. When you have so much going for yourself, that determines your deterrence factor against crime. Both theories did a great job at evaluating how deterrence plays a huge part. More specifically how fear of letting down family, friends and peers as well as the fear in getting thrown out of an educational