Defiance theory

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The criminological Despite theory : (English original Defiance Theory as one of many) crime theories uncover want, for whatever reasons offenders differently to penalties respond, where the emphasis is on Despite ( Defiance is) in response. The theory was published in 1993 by Lawrence W. Sherman .

Content and criminal policy implications

According to Sherman, punishment can work in three forms:

  • It can act as a deterrent and thus the desired target reach ( Deterrence ).
  • It can be ineffective and thus have no influence on the commission of further criminal offenses ( irrelevance ).
  • It can generate a defiant reaction and thus further deviant behavior ( defiance ).

Factors that make defiant reactions and thus new criminal offenses likely are the perceived injustice of the sanction, doubting the legitimacy of the criminal, injured pride and a lack of social ties to the criminal.

According to Sherman, empirical evidence shows that there is a connection between personality type and the effectiveness of punishment; that punishment is more effective for working men than for the unemployed and that it works better for older than younger men.

Like the theory of reintegrative shaming , the defiance theory makes it clear that sanctions can have an inhibiting as well as reinforcing effect on criminal behavior and implies for the judicial system that arbitrariness , humiliation and stigmatization on the part of the police or the courts have to cease because this leads to new crimes to be produced.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This is the name of Hans Joachim Schneider : Internationales Handbuch der Kriminologie . Part 1, De Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89949-128-9 , p. 145 .; and also with:
    Hans-Dieter Schwind : Kriminologie und Kriminalpolitik. A practice-oriented introduction with examples . 23rd edition, Kriminalistik Verlag, Heidelberg 2016, ISBN 978-3-7832-0047-8 , p. 164.
  2. ↑ Lawrence W. Sherman , Defiance, Deterrence, and Irrelevance: A Theory of the Criminal Sanction . In: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , Volume 30, Issue 4/1993, pp. 445–473, doi : 10.1177 / 0022427893030004006 .
  3. ↑ The presentation follows: Christian Wickert, Defiance Theory (Sherman) , SozTheo ; In German-language criminology textbooks, the theory is treated cursory at best, if at all.