ABSTRACT
We begin with the most basic question: Does deterrence work? Strong statements are often made in the negative. “Deterrence is a principal with much immediate appeal,” wrote England's Home Office in 1990,
but much crime is committed on impulse […] and it is committed by offenders who live from moment to moment […] It is unrealistic to construct sentencing arrangements on the assumption that most offenders will weigh up the possibilities in advance and base their conduct on rational calculation. 1
