CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT: A REFERENCE GROUP EFFECT AND ITS FUNCTIONAL FORM

• NCJ Number: 144634
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 31 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1993) Pages: 447-464
• Author(s): J Yu; A E Liska
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The authors examine crime rates regarding certainty of punishment, race of offender, and type of crime.

Abstract

Past research has shown no relationship between crime rates and certainty of punishment below a "tipping point" certainty level of .30 and a strong negative relationship above the tipping point. Few large cities achieve the tipping point for most crimes. The authors analyzed data collected by the Uniform Crime Reports and National Crime Survey from interviews among approximately 10,000 households in 26 cities. Disaggregating the analysis by crime and race, they suggest that although racial majorities may not experience certainty levels above the tipping point, racial minorities do, particularly for the crimes of robbery and rape. 3 tables, 12 footnotes, and 51 references