Chapter 14 - Specific Deterrence and Incapacitation

Abstract

Specific deterrence and incapacitation are two prominent methods for preventing convicted offenders from committing further crimes. Specific deterrence seeks to prevent the offender from further deviant actions through the imposition of punishments that will negate any pleasure or advantage gained by participation in criminal activity. Incapacitation also seeks to prevent future crime on the part of the offender by a simple controlling of the individual which prohibits the physical possibility of future criminal activity. The chapter discusses the studies of specific deterrence, the effectiveness of imprisonment to have a specific deterrent effect, two different forms of incapacitation—collective and selective, findings from the studies of the collective and specific incapacitation of imprisonment. The advent of electronic monitoring (EM) has introduced a new avenue in incapacitation. EM is one possible solution to the call for increased supervision and protection of society when offenders are released into the community. The chapter also discusses the active and passive EM systems, potential advantages of EM, the effectiveness of EM to reduce recidivism, and the problems and concerns with the use of EM.