Crime and Punishment What is Crime Crime o Expensive Measuring Crime o A violation of the law o 5 types violent crime white collar organized crime including terrorism property crime and drug crime o FBI s Uniform Crime Report UCR Data voluntarily submitted by local law enforcement Measurement error some victims don t report crime o National Crime Victimization Surveys NCVS More accurate More crime reported Data submitted by randomly selected US households General Demographic Characteristics of Victims and Criminals of Homicide o Most likely to be murdered Black males ages 18 24 o Least likely to be murdered Women over 25 o Most likely to kill Males commit 90 of murder age 18 24 Why Do Individuals Engage in Crime Reasons stem from both nature and nurture Gary Becker 1968 argued that crime is a function of the punishment probability of being arrested and benefit from crime o Coined psychic rewards As Expected Utility Model of Crime o The expected utility of a choice The probability of an outcome multiplied by the utility of an outcome summed across all possible outcomes of a choice Decision maker chooses option with greatest expected utility Prospect Theory an Crime o Prospect theory Incorporates human psychology into expected utility theory Kahneman and Tversky 1979 Benefits and Costs of Criminal Success o Personal costs Depend on his or her character Character A person s value system comprised of two interconnected dimensions rule following and empathy o Social context Areas with lots of crime make crime more appealing Crime carries social cost When the number of criminals with whom one interacts increases then the social cost of crime decreases Poverty and unemployment increase the likelihood of crime o Utility of Being Caught Cost of Crime Three types of costs Punishment by the state o Probability of Conviction o Primary cost Fines time in jail time in prison and capital punishment Social costs ostracism from a group or shame Nagin 1998 social sanctions are a more important deterrent than imprisonment Economic opportunity Income for the benefit of being associated with the crime McCarthy 2002 observes that as people grow older they are less likely to commit crimes because their wages increase making the benefits decrease More important than punishment is a person s perception that they will be caught and convicted Attractiveness of crime increases as educational and social capital decrease and criminal capital increases Capital a resource used in pursuit of an end Financial capital Amount of money Human capital An individual s skill set Social capital Social networks that have value o Tocqueville Putnam 2000 social capital is memberships in groups ex bowling leagues o Knack and Keefer 1997 social capital is necessary for economic growth o Coleman 1988 social capital is a function of family structure and it increases human capital in the form of educational attainment Criminal capital Human or social capital that enhances a person s ability to profit from illegal activity o The criminal knowledge and skill set o Ex The number of people a person knows who are criminals Strategies to Reduce Crime Strategies that Reduce the Benefits of Crime o Focus on economic advancement Economy Crime is a way to make money and those with less wealth are more apt to turn to it o The opportunity cost of crime is smaller for those with a smaller wage or who are unemployed Solution Reduce benefits of crime or increase benefits of having a job raising minimum wage Kelly 2000 shows that poverty is a great predictor of crime Grogger 1998 Provides evidence to support the opportunity cost hypothesis o Youth wage gap in the 1970s and 1980s accounts for 26 difference of the racial differential in crime participation Recidivism repeat offending Recidivism should decrease if a parolee should find legal employment Employment rate is a minor effect on crime Strategy Increase education because it increases their human capital and earning potential Education may also increase patience and risk aversion Lochner and Moretti 2004 Those with a high school education are much less likely to commit crimes Freeman 1996 over half of those in prison have less than a high school education Kelly 2000 shows that the factor with the most substantive influence on committing crime is whether a youth comes from a one parent family Education Strategies that Decrease the Probability of Attaining Criminal Benefits o To decrease the probability of attaining criminal benefits it is important to decrease criminal capital and anything that makes it easier for one to succeed at attaining criminal objectives Reducing the influence of gangs Peer pressure Esbensen Deschenes and Winfree 1999 youth join gangs for protection fun respect money or because a friend was in the gang Gangs are less likely to thrive in neighborhoods with increased police presence school based life skills programs community organizing efforts and encouragement towards maintaining stable two parent families When gangs do not thrive criminal capital decreases when criminal capital decreases the probability of attaining criminal benefits decreases when the probability of attaining benefits decreases crime decreases Strategies that Increase the Cost of Crime o Tough on Crime policies Imprisonment is thought to reduce crime through deterrence Thought to reduce crime by draining the pool Three Strikes and You re Out Requires judges to give a mandatory extended sentence to anyone convicted of three serious offences Laws aim to reduce recidivism Critics argue Takes away judges discretion All offenses are not equal It makes little sense to sentence every third offender to a long term imprisonment because most people end criminal activity by their late 20s Tough on crime policies has a slight deterrence but the expense is large Truth in sentencing laws A tough on crime policy that requires that a person serve at least 85 of their sentence o Efforts by the principal to reduce discretion Consequences of being tough on crime Non violent criminals get sentenced to crimes and spend years in state and county jails leads to enormous amount of people incarcerated and high spending on prisons An important strategy for increasing the cost of crime is persuading people that crime is a bad choice Nancy Reagan s Just Say No Hasn t proved to be effective Grogger and Willis 2000 Primary cause of the 1980s crime increase was crack cocaine DARE Not effective To successfully teach students to
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