The criminal justice system uses punishment to deter people from committing crimes. Punishments may be minor (e.g., paying fines) or more severe (e.g., incarceration).
Some believe that punishment is an effective deterrent to criminal behavior, while others believe that punishment, particularly in severe forms, promotes anger and violence.
The restorative justice approach may include punishments, such as paying restitution or completing community service, but only for the purposes of meeting the needs of victims. Therefore, questions persist regarding whether a gentler, but more meaningful, restorative approach is as effective for deterring crime as traditional punishments.
In this Discussion, you examine whether a restorative justice approach is more or less effective for deterring crime compared to traditional punishments.
By Day 3
Post a response that addresses the following:
Describe the differences between general and specific deterrence.
Identify a nonviolent crime. Then describe the sanctions used for the crime in your state. Do the existing sanctions adequately deter crime? Why or why not?
Provide an argument about whether a restorative justice approach would be more or less effective to deter the nonviolent crime you selected.
