Deterrence Theory Of Crime

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Deterrence Theory
Introduction
The thought of criminals committing crimes at their will has never been acceptable to society. But crime is as old as creation. The very first crime was committed between Cane and Able. That crime was murder. It did not go unpunished then, so why would criminals believe that any type of criminal act would go unpunished now? We will discuss a theory that could shed some light on this issue which is Deterrence Theory.
Deterrence Theory Defined
According to Deterrence Theory (2010, p. 234), punishment can be traced to the early works of classical philosophers such as Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794), Thomas Hobbes (1588–1678), and Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). These theorists together remonstrated against legal policies …show more content…
But, we need to understand that sanctions must be set in place because it is supposed to deter criminals from committing future crimes, especially when they realize that there will be swift and severe punishment which should be enough to outweigh the reward criminals tend to look for and hope to obtain from the crime they have committed, and the other part is supposed to be a key component in our U.S. justice system.
But, this type of theory has received some criticism, because it tends to makes three assumptions which are: “A) That criminals will think things through and make choices about the type of behavior they should have, which is supposed to be based-on logic, not passion; B) That criminals know what the penalties will be for the crime they are thinking of committing ahead of time; and C) that they have good control so that they cannot be caught and pay any consequences” (“Deterrence Theory of”, n.d. para.6). In the above cases, it is safe to say that the above three assumptions just are not …show more content…
Why should they? When an officer makes an arrest, before they can finish typing up there reports the criminal or suspect is back out on the street in most cases, or they commit a serious crime and go to court, but if they have a good lawyer (mouth piece) they will not be remanded or they are released on their OR (Own Recognizance), and to criminals, it comes off as a joke and makes the criminal justice system feel like they just receive another blackeye. Then if they are convicted, and are sentence to death, there is a good chance some of us including the victims, will die before they are put to death or worst their death sentence is commuted to life without parole. So, why should we believe that deterrence’s will make our citizens respect
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