Intimidation, incapacitation or prevention?

Which is the best means to reduce crime

Authors

  • Tulio Kahn

Keywords:

Minimal criminal law, Intimidation, Prevention, Prison system, Incarceration

Abstract

The article seeks to question the proposition that longer and harsher sentences are efficient for reducing crime, based on the statistical improbability of punishment and on specific characteristics of Brazilian criminality. It also attempts to replicate the cost-benefit analysis of imprisonment in the Brazilian case, taking as a basis the situation of 318 individuals imprisoned for theft in a penitentiary in the State of São Paulo, in addition to victimization surveys and crime data released by the Public Security and Penitentiary Administration Secretariats.

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References

ADORNO, Sérgio. A violência na Sociedade Brasileira: um painel inconcluso em uma democracia não consolidada. Revista Sociedade & Estado 2, Brasília, v. X, 1995.

BARKAN, Steven E. Criminology: a sociological understanding. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1997.

LEVITT, Steven D. The effect of prison population size on crime rates: evidence from prison overcrowding litigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, v. 111, n. 2, 1996.

LEVITT, Steven D. Juvenile crime and punishment. Journal of Political Economy, v. 106, n. 6, 1998.

LOTT, John R. Does allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deter crime? Chicago: University of Chicago, 1997.

STERN, Vivien. A sin against the future: imprisonment in the world. London: Penguin, 1998.

Published

2000-04-01

How to Cite

KAHN, Tulio. Intimidation, incapacitation or prevention? Which is the best means to reduce crime. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 30, n. 30, p. 197–206, 2000. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3958. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.
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