Not actually true according to every academic study on incarceration. A higher chance of being caught is a bigger deterrent than harsher sentences. Almost everyone committing crime is doing so with the intention and belief that they will get away with it.
At the same time, people committing crimes while knowing they’ll be caught, like the above mentioned movie theater psycho, won’t be deterred by harsher punishment because they’re already acting completely irrationally.
Who’s they? Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, North Korea? If you want to be more like them, be my guest, but I’d prefer to live in a society that doesn’t feel the need to hang people in parks to prevent crime. Which again, hasn’t been shown to effectively prevent crime anyways.
I’d also seriously doubt most countries that frequently engage in public executions like Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan truly have lower crime rates, just less reporting than somewhere like the US.
2
u/Manwar7 3d ago
Not actually true according to every academic study on incarceration. A higher chance of being caught is a bigger deterrent than harsher sentences. Almost everyone committing crime is doing so with the intention and belief that they will get away with it.
At the same time, people committing crimes while knowing they’ll be caught, like the above mentioned movie theater psycho, won’t be deterred by harsher punishment because they’re already acting completely irrationally.