Testing the importance of forgiveness for reducing repeat offending

Abstract

Braithwaite’s (1989) Reintegrative Shaming Theory has gained worldwide popularity in criminology. The main focus of the theory is on shaming as a tool for reducing repeat offending. However, recent criticisms levelled at the theory have questioned the effectiveness and reliability of shaming for reducing re-offending, particularly in Western jurisdictions. Some scholars have suggested that the reintegrative notion of forgiveness may prove a more effective strategy for reducing repeat offending. In response to these suggestions, this study will examine whether forgiveness might offer an effective approach for reducing recidivism among tax offenders. Using survey data collected from tax offenders who had been caught and punished by the Australian Tax Office, it will be shown that stigmatizing shaming had no direct impact on their subsequent compliance-related behaviours. Instead, stigmatizing shaming served to displace taxpayers’ sense of responsibility for their wrong-doing. Forgiveness, in contrast, was found to play an important independent role in reducing taxpayers’ repeat offending, and for increasing their cooperation with the tax authority. These results have important implications for both the theory of reintegrative shaming and for public policy, particularly in relation to identifying strategies that effectively and reliably reduce repeat offending.