What is the relationship between punishment and classical and neoclassical thought? With what types of offenders might punishment be the most effective in reducing recidivism?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Punishment is critical to both classical and neoclassical thought. It is fundamental to these theories that individuals are rational human beings, and thus it is thought that they will weigh the costs against the benefits of committing a crime. Although there are certainly other costs that an offender would weigh in deciding to commit a crime, such as risk of injury or death, the threat of punishment by the criminal justice system is critical. It is difficult to know for what types of offenders punishment might be the most effective in reducing recidivism. One could argue that it is the juvenile or first-/second-time offender who is more likely to be deterred by serious punishment. Crime might not be a way of life for them, thus they may be willing to seek other methods to achieve the same benefits gained from committing crime. Research indicates that offenders do constantly revise their understandings of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, including punishment. Some critics argue that if punishment were more certain, and offenders weren’t able to plea-bargain down their sentence, then there would be higher costs for committing crime and more offenders would be deterred.