Similarities and Differences Between General and Specific Deterrence

Crime Deterrence Theories: Specific and General
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Introduction
Crime deterrence is the process of preventing potential offenders from engaging in criminal activities by instilling fear of punishment. Deterring crimes falls under two theories, specific and general deterrence. Specific deterrence instills fear in individuals who engage in criminal acts by punishing them hence changing their decisions on committing more crimes thus preventing crimes. General deterrence instills fear by punishing criminals in the presence of the public, ideally, the offender becomes an illustration to others (Trang & Brendel, 2019). This paper analyzes the two theories’ similarities and differences and how they aid in crime reduction using varying approaches that focus on differing aspects that influence criminal activities and their effectiveness.
Similarities Between Specific and General Crime Deterrence
The theories, however, are similar in ways, for instance, both target potential offenders and formulate ways of influencing them from engaging in criminal acts hence preventing crimes from happening. Also, instilling fear of punishment in offenders by linking criminal acts with negative consequences that hinder them from taking part (Johnson, 2019). Third, both theories utilize the criminal justice system as a guide to punishing and penalizing criminal acts as a warning to potential offenders. The theories follow factors such as risk perception and how severe punishment is to prevent people from breaking the law.
Differences Between Specific and General Crime Deterrence
Consequently, the theories differ in many aspects of a target audience, the scope, and how punishment is applied. Mainly, the difference relays the message in a different manner, a specific deterrence the consequences of the punishment are experienced on an individual level, whereas in general deterrence the punishment of the offender is exposed to the public impacting the community. Therefore, the scope for a general deterrence is considered to be wide with a primary goal of influencing the decision of other potential offend...