The Deterrence Hypothesis And Picking Pockets at the Pickpocket’s Hanging
Transcript
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And Picking Pockets at the Pickpockets Hanging
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$1,705,000,000 per year in the U.S. $4,118 per person
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Gary Becker (1968) argued that crime is rational. Others
followed suitBlock and Heineke (1975), Polinsky and Shavell (1999),
Rubin, Dezhbakhsh, and Shephard (2002), This supports the Criminal
Deterrence Hypothesis: Punishment Crime
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While it is true that on the current margin, some criminals
seem to respond to punishment, Is it appropriate to model all
criminal behavior as rational? That is, how many of our criminals
are rational? Would punishment ever lead to a satisfactory
reduction in crime? What alternatives to punishment might have a
larger effect?
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Marginal Cost / Benefit Number of Crimes MB MC Crimes*
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Marginal Cost / Benefit Number of Crimes MB MC Crimes* I wont
get caught.
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Marginal Cost / Benefit Number of Crimes MB Crimes* Anger
dominates rationality
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Positive estimate of arrest and conviction Thought about the
possibility of apprehension Some idea of the likely punishment
Thought about the likely punishment at time of decision to commit
crime
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Perceived Invincibility Alcohol / Drugs Lack of Information
Rebellion and Thrill Seeking Punishment as Right of Passage Formal
Punishment is Small Fraction of Cost to Criminal Career loss,
Relationship loss Embarrassment Cost of time
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Murder and non-negligent manslaughter 67% Aggravated assault
58% Forcible rape 52% All violent crime 47%
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Drug Trafficking 73% Murder, Burglary, and Weapons Offenses 67%
The lowest rate is for assault, which is 41%
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Erlich (1975) estimated that 1 execution prevents 7-8 murders
Bowers and Pierce (1980) estimated that 1 execution causes 2-3
murders Available Data Are Aggregated Lack Important Variables Miss
Unreported Crimes Involve Spurious Correlation between Enforcement
Measures and Crime Counts Does more detection drive higher crime
rates or do higher crime rates drive more detection? Miss Location
and Crime-Type Shifting Results are not robust across time periods
and locations
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What type of crime were you arrested for? (Note: If you did not
commit the crime that you were arrested for, please reply to each
question based on your knowledge of those who do commit such
crimes.) How much time did you spend planning and carrying out this
incident? If you had a legal job when the crime was committed, how
much were you earning? _____ per _____ (hour/year/etc.) In what
year? ________ How much do you think you could be earning now if
you werent involved in crime? _____ per _____ (hour/year/etc.) What
was the last grade in school that you completed? When you committed
this crime, how likely did you think it was that you would be
caught? very likely d) I did not think I would be caught. somewhat
likelye) I did not think about it. possible, but not likely When
you committed the crime, did you know what the likely punishment
would be if you were caught? I knew exactly what the punishment
would be. I had a good idea. I had some idea. I had no idea, or I
thought I knew but I was wrong. I didnt think about it. Were the
following items available, and if not, would they have prevented
the crime? Available?Prevented? yes noyes no maybe drug
rehabilitation father living with you evening/weekend sports
programs awareness of punishment if caught awareness of likelihood
of being caught legal employment death penalty for this crime Is
there any other type of program, punishment, or detection method
that would have prevented you from committing this crime? If the
following items existed, would the crime have occurred without
them? Existed?Caused? yes noyes no maybe drug use friends who were
a bad influence financial needs Boredom violence in TV/Movies you
watched Is there anything else that might have caused this
crime?
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When you committed this crime, how likely did you think it was
that you would be caught?
ALLDeadlySexRobberyAssaultBurglaryDrugsDUIChild SupForgery Very
likely0.170.110.100.050.400.140.190.200.170.43 Somewhat
likely0.070.050.000.04 0.060.150.180.170.00 Possible, but not
likely0.130.110.100.130.000.170.190.090.170.14 I did not think I
would be caught.0.210.190.200.320.080.190.230.180.00 I did not
think about it. 0.420.540.600.460.480.430.250.360.500.43 When you
committed the crime, did you know what the likely punishment would
be if you were caught?
ALLDeadlySexRobberyAssaultBurglaryDrugsDUIChild SupForgery I knew
exactly what the punishment would
be.0.220.160.100.250.040.210.250.360.500.43 I had a good
idea.0.130.080.000.140.160.080.250.090.170.00 I had some
idea.0.110.080.200.090.160.140.110.090.000.14 I had no idea, or
thought I knew but was wrong.
0.180.140.500.200.280.190.130.000.170.14 I didnt think about it.
0.350.540.200.320.360.380.260.450.170.29 Totally incognizant of one
or both factors0.760.890.900.880.720.760.64 0.670.71
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Minor increases have accomplished little in the past Major
increases strike ethical and legal chords Cruel and unusual
punishment is prohibited by the 8 th and 14 th Amendments Perceived
Invincibility is Overarching Reason for Imperviousness
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NEGATIVE INFLUENCE CRIMINALS EXPOSED (%) GEN. POP. EXPOSED (%)
EXPOSURE HELPED CAUSE CRIME (%)** Recent drug use0.660.060.66
Financial needs0.530.14*0.86 Friends who were a bad
influence0.55n/a0.80 Violence in TV / Movies0.37n/a0.33 Boredom
0.41n/a0.89 * Percent below poverty level. ** Expressed as a
percentage of those exposed. POSITIVE INFLUENCE CRIMINALS EXPOSED
(%) GEN. POP. EXPOSED (%) ABSENCE HELPED CAUSE CRIME (%)* Father
living with you0.400.780.46 High school education0.510.82n/a Drug
rehabilitation available0.52n/a0.41 Evening / weekend sports
programs0.64n/a0.41 Legal employment 0.720.760.65 * Expressed as a
percentage of those without the influence.
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Education Increases Opportunity Cost of Crime Provides
Alternative Income Sources Takes People Off the Streets Can Convey
Morals / Ethics Can Teach Dispute Resolution Techniques and How to
Deal with Peaked Emotions Can Teach Repercussions of Drugs and
Crime Community Programs Drug Rehabilitation Innovative Drug Policy
Concentrate on the Economy, which has larger effect on crime