ABSTRACT
The threat of punishment functions in part to discourage people from violating rules. We see this principle at work throughout numerous walks of life. It surfaces, for example, when parents give advance warning to their children of the unpleasant consequences of engaging in forbidden behavior. It almost certainly helps explain why most motorists dutifully deposit coins in a parking meter when they leave their car next to one, and adhere reasonably close to the speed limit while driving. It undergirds and is a prime justification for enforcing the criminal law. Potential sanctions obviously do not dissuade all who are tempted to break rules; if they did, there would be no crime. However, when violators are caught and held accountable, their punishment serves as an example for others that a similar fate awaits them in the event they are so bold as to follow suit. When the prospect of punishment, particularly as realized through its application to a known offender, discourages individuals who have not violated the law from doing so, it has functioned as a general deterrent to crime.
