Deterrence Theory Of Crime

The deterrence theory is a concept founded on individuals controlling their behavior based on the perceived punishments or rewards of their actions. Deterrence is not a new concept; it has been prominent in societies dating back centuries, such as decimation, cutting off the hand of a thief, crucifixion, and public executions (Ball, 1955). Current third world countries are not as humane as the United States and practice harsh, tortuous punishments to deter individuals from committing crime initially or repeating a crime, including stoning, honor crimes, body burnings, and lashing with a whip. Society continues to deter the individual element by modifying human perceptions with deterrent strategies that focuses on the punishment or threat of …show more content…
Specific deterrence is frequently tailored to the individual that committed the offense and aimed at convincing the individual to never repeat the offense. The punishment for specific deterrence must fit the crime as well as be miserable enough to decide never to commit a similar offense, such as the 3-strike law, excessive fining, lengthy incarceration, mandatory arrests for specific offenses, and the death penalty. For example, there are now mandatory arrests for all individuals involved in a domestic violence …show more content…
Striking a proper balance is indeed difficult due to all offenders having diverse knowledge of laws and react to punishments differently, therefore failure could potentially create a hardened criminal, but if the deterrent is all bark/no bite there is a higher possibility of no impact allowing criminal offenses to increase. Deterrence may be under fire for its current effectiveness, but society will continue to control behavior and crime by utilizing deterrent methods until something more viable is