Deterrent

Deterrent

Checkpoint : Delinquency Deterrent Response

I think that the threat of punishment does help deter kids from committing crimes. At the same time I don’t think it is the most effective or only to go about deterring crime. I think that if the threat of punishment is high and it is known to the child then it can have the desired deterrent effect. Where I think punishment fails is in the cases where the kid fells like they have no hope, so they do not feel any fear of punishment. The other more common reason that punishment does not work it peer pressure. When children are in a group they can feed off of each other giving courage and or pressure to do the crime no matter the consequences.
There are many examples of general deterrence, specific deterrence, and situational crime prevention strategies. First general deterrence is much the same as the punishment method. The theory here is that a child who does drugs and think they will get a small fine if caught may still do the drug, but if the law changes and the child now know that they will go to jail as well as fines then they may not do the drug.
Specific deterrence is much the same as general, but with the punishment actually carried out. It is believed that if a child faces a severe punishment they will reframe from doing the crime again. If for example they have to face court and jail for their crime then it stands to reason they will not want to do that again. This however does not always work.
The final type of deterrence is my personal favorite, situational crime prevention strategies. This is where you make committing the crime more difficult, less profitable and increase the chances of getting caught. From what I have seen this method works the best. Ways this is carried out is by putting more police on the streets, having officer target a crime instead of reacting, putting in non-breakable glass, and using more security cameras. These are just a few ways that this method is carried out.
erran