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Harsher punishments reduce crime rate...
The policy of severe punishment for criminals totally ignores results from
criminological investigations, which demonstrate that fear of possible
punishment only stops a negligible number of potential criminals. According to a
survey of prisoners, the majority of them did not consider the possible
punishment at all at the moment of committing a crime [17,
p. 117]. Opinion polls conducted in various countries show that the fear of
punishment prevents between 5% to 20% of people from committing crime. But this
is true of stable social and economic conditions. Lack of stability, and legal
and power crises create a notion of impunity amongst those who commit crimes,
and the fear of punishment ceases to play any role.
At the time of committing a crime, a considerable number of offenders in
Russia are unlikely to be able to adequately comprehend the possible ensuing
punishment. Furthermore, the majority of those who committed crimes were either
juveniles or under the influence of alcohol.
“In 1994, 600,100 offenses were committed under the influence of alcohol.
In some regions over a half of all detected crimes were committed under the
influence of alcohol”. In 1994, 77% of people suspected of murder, were drunk
at the time. 8% of the suspects were juveniles [6].
A further proportion of crimes in Russia are committed due to extreme
poverty, when necessity to satisfy one’s minimal needs with regards to food
and housing outweighs the fear of any possible punishment. Impossibility to
solve life’s problems, primarily concerning survival and housing, forces
ex-prisoners to commit new crimes. Human rights organizations report that it is
a common occurrence that released prisoners do not receive or receive only part
of the money stipulated by law for food and travel expenses for their journey
home.
For members of organized criminal groups (5%—7% of all criminals) and some
other social groups (prisoners, soldiers, the young) not to commit an offense is
often more dangerous than the risk (currently highly improbable) of being caught
by law enforcement bodies and being punished.
Recently, law enforcement authorities haven willingly spoken about the
reduction in the crime rate in Uzbekistan, which occurred after the introduction
of more severe punishments for a number of crimes.
“Russia is moaning because of car thefts: 300—500 car thefts per day...
The punishment was made harsher. And what? No more car thefts...”
It would be good if those who point out the Asian experience also pay
attention to the experience of our western neighbors. In Lithuania, for example,
the same measure in respect to car thefts produced the opposite result. There is
nothing surprising in the difference of outcomes of measures which seem the
same. Consequences not only depend on such repressive actions, but also on the
social, cultural and political environment where they are enforced. Moreover,
when choosing a criminal policy, we should be aware of where this choice will
take society: towards totalitarianism, with a minimal rate of registered crime
and lack of problems or to the rule of law, with a more dynamic social and
political structure and, along with it, more problems for society.
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