RT Article
T1 Beating a dead horse: is there any basic empirical evidence for the deterrent effect of imprisonment?
JF Crime, law and social change
VO 31
IS 4
SP 347
OP 362
A1 Lynch, Michael J.
LA English
YR 1999
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1883095972
AB Crime has declined over the past several years, renewing the belief that punishments such as imprisonment are useful mechanisms for deterring criminal activity. This article assesses this claim by examining data on U.S. crime and imprisonment trends from 1972 through 1993, a period that saw a continuous increase in levels of incarceration. This period was purposefully chosen because it represents a "natural" experiment concerning the impact of continuous increases in the rate of incarceration on crime rates. A second analysis examining cross-sectional, state level data for the period 1980-1991 is also presented. The findings from these analyses indicate that sentiments concerning the deterrent effect of imprisonment are overstated, and there appears to be no statistically significant relationship between imprisonment rates and crime rates for the period and areas under study.
NO Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 361-362
K1 Boot Camp
K1 Crime Rate
K1 Deterrent Effect
K1 Imprisonment Rate
K1 Motor Vehicle Theft
DO 10.1023/A:1008328811104