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Deterrence And Its Effect On Society

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Deterrence
Joni Montoya
South University Online

Justice. Deterrence starts in childhood. A parent punishes a child for doing something forbidden and the child learns that doing this thing will have bad consequences. When one person or persons attempt to sway the decision of another with the menace of punishment more threatening than the gains, this is deterrence (Coleman, 2002). Deterrence is defined as the punishment of socially undesirable behavior as a means of future prevention (Coleman, 2002). The driving force behind deterrence is the fear of punishment. Deterrence is part of the Classical theory (South University Online, 2014). Classical theory states that criminals have free will and make a deliberate decision to commit a crime. Classical theory has been around since ancient times. Society has always had rules and punishments. The concept behind classical theory is that persons will avoid criminal behavior because of the negative consequences (What, 2014). The role that the family plays is that the family teaches the children how to behave in society and what will happen if they deviate from correct and proper behavior. Deterrence causes an individual to decide whether the gains from the inappropriate behavior outweigh the losses. For example, a bank robber needs to decide whether the gain, thousands of dollars, outweighs the loss, years in prison. Deterrence wins if the robber decides not to rob the bank because for fear of
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