DETERRENCE WITHOUT PUNISHMENT |
| |
| Authors: | JACKSON TOBY |
| |
| Institution: | Jackson Toby is Professor of Sociology and Director of the lnstitute for Criminological Research at Rutgers University. For the past three years he has been studring the causes of crime and disorder in publicsecondars schools. Hisarticle "Crime in American Public Schoo1s"appeared in the Winter 1980 issue of The Public interest. Another article. "Where are the Streakers Now?", is included in Hubert M. Blalocks recent book, Sociological Theory and Research: A Critical Appraisal, and deals with Parsonion conceptions of deviance. |
| |
| Abstract: | Deterrence is conceivable without formal punishment administered by the state provided that informal social disapproval and self-condemnation are the predictable consequences of criminal behavior. Unfortunately. such consequences cannot be counted on in modern secular societies, partly because of the social heterogeneity that prevents consensus on what is heinous behavior. This article considers the feasibility of symbolic redefinition of criminal acts so as to make social disapproval and self-condemnation more probable. The crime of rape is used to illustrate this approach. The issue is: Can collective efforts at symbolic redefinition of crime be mobilized through the political process and thereby prevent some crimes from occurring that otherwise would take place? |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
