PUNISHMENT - ITS SEVERITY AND CERTAINTY

• NCJ Number: 7654
• Journal: JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL, CRIMINOLOGY AND POLICE SCIENCE Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Dated: (DECEMBER 1972) Pages: 530-539
• Author(s): R W Smith
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 10 pages
• Corporate Author: Williams and Wilkins Co
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEVERITY AND CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT FOR THE MAJOR INDEX CRIMES WAS ANALYZED FROM DATA ON REPORTED CRIMES AND PRISON ADMISSIONS.

Abstract

DETERRENCE THEORY SUGGESTS THAT SEVERITY AND CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT ARE ADDITIVE FACTORS IN THEIR EFFECT ON OFFENSE RATES. IN ORDER TO EXAMINE THIS RELATIONSHIP, INDICES WERE CONSTRUCTED FOR THREE TIME PERIODS, UTILIZING OFFICIAL STATISTICS ON CRIMES REPORTED TO THE POLICE, ADMISSIONS TO PRISONS, AND LENGTH OF PRISONER SENTENCES. IT WAS FOUND THAT THERE WAS AN INVERSE TREND IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEVERITY AND CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT FOR EACH OF THE INDEX CRIMES, AS WELL AS BETWEEN CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF THESE TWO VARIABLES.