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Shame as crime deterrent
In earlier times, public shaming was an accepted — and effective — deterrent for unsociable behavior. People caught stealing or in adultery, for example, were clapped in stocks in the public square.
Recently, I read where a Texas judge is sentencing convicted criminals to stand on street corners holding signs confessing their crimes. Now, in El Cajon, Calif., the police department is posting on its website the names, photographs, and case details of women arrested for prostitution. The San Diego Union Tribune reports:
The goal of putting the faces of convicted prostitutes on the Web “is to move them and the crimes that come with them out of our city,” said El Cajon police Special Investigations Sgt. Mike Hook.
Marjorie Cohn, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said the Web site is…”an incredible invasion of the privacy of the women, with no real benefit to law enforcement.”
For some businesses along the corridors best known for prostitution activity in El Cajon, the high-tech approach is welcome. “I think it’s a good idea because we get a lot of them hanging around here,” said John Crisp, owner of Bath-Co Shower Door on Main Street east of Johnson Avenue. “It’s not good for business.”
What say you?
back to top30 Comments to “Shame as crime deterrent”
Mugshots aren’t an invasion of privacy and they are already available to the public, so what exactly is the issue here?
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Does anyone else think that the women might consider the website “free advertising” rather than “punishment”?
In many cases, I think that shame is an appropriate punishment/deterrent. This one, not sure.
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If they really wanted to deter prostitution, they’d post photos of the johns.
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Does anyone else think that the women might consider the website “free advertising” rather than “punishment”?
LOL!
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StuBob has it right.
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StuBob is right.
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Both prostitute and the male should have their photos posted, that should change things very quickly -
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Humiliation sentences are unusual, which gives them their sting. They’re mean, if not cruel. They make judges seem like vote-panderers rather than impartial custodians of the rule of law. As a person who takes no glee in another’s punishment, I’d vote against judges who turn sentences into stunts. If I lived in the judge’s neighborhood, I’d put up a sign in my front yard that said “WARNING: A SEXUAL PREDATOR LIVES HERE” and politely tell neighbors to complain to the judge. Whatever happened to the good old fashioned three nights in jail? People need to be more patient with each other. We don’t cut off ears, noses, or hands, nor should we maim people’s emotional condition.
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Cohn’s comment (”an incredible invasion of the privacy of the women”) cracked me up. I’m wondering if women who publicly invite men to invade them are all that concerned about privacy.
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Ahhh, but not ‘publicly’ invade.
Or does that matter?
What if we lose the aggressive analogies for something that happens every second of the day? What are you, a feminist?
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Agreed, stubob. Perhaps the johns should also have to wear a big red ‘J’.
Invasion of privacy? Didn’t they used to advertise by putting a red light outside?
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Definitely with StuBob on this one!
Many in prostitution are victims (not all) but certainly the Johns don’t fit that category. Post their pictures!
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Scroop Moth,
I don’t think that the main thing we should worry about in regard to prostitution is the participants’ emontional condition.
I am much more concerned about the spread of disease, the breakup of the family, the exploitation and abuse of the prostitutes, and the blatant hypocrisy of some of the clients.
If a bit of shame acts as a deterrent, especially if it could help curb the practice, then it is a useful tool.
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I’ve seen a couple of these sites done by other cities, generally showing the street hookers who were arrested.
It boggled my mind that they were so much the opposite of glamourous or attractive, such that I could’t imagine being with one of them (much less paying for such “privilege”).
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My town is so small that the prostitutes have to wear helmets!
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I think that, from a biblical perspective, shame is a big part of repentance — possibly even a necessary antecedent to it. And perhaps shame speaks mainly to the “sin aspect” of crime, because shame can (should) also attend those sinful acts that aren’t criminal.
Because of the news story Lynn started us off with, the conversation so far has (mostly) pertained to prostitution. One notable exception has been Scroop’s mention of sexual predators. I think this raises the question of whether all crimes, or only certain ones, invite the use of public shame in the punishment — and social restoration — of the criminal.
I.e., I don’t think that inherently violent crimes such as murder, rape or sexual molestation of a minor lend themselves to the use of shame it’s being discussed here, because these are hard-core crimes worthy of death or something close to it.
But perhaps the less-violent crimes (either where violence is threatened, such as a mugging, or where there is no victim, such as DUI) — and most especially the non-violent “property” crimes (theft, etc.) — are especially suited to the use of shame. (And of course, the crimes against social mores and order, such as prostitution or public drunkenness.)
Interesting topic, Lynn.
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If a bit of shame acts as a deterrent, especially if it could help curb the practice, then it is a useful tool. Kyle A.
Unfortunately, for the authoritarians among us, “justice” gives one the permission to indulge oneself in the self-righteous enjoyment of the punishment of others. This is a very bad side effect to the “deterrent” you advocate. You can — should, if you’re serious — achieve your purposes regarding disease, divorce, exploitation, etc., by other means.
. . . I could’t imagine being with one of them (much less paying for such “privilege”). — KRM
And Kyle claims that deterrents are “useful”! So how do you explain it, KRM?
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Speaking of shame, did QWERTY get a job? I haven’t seen him lately.
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StuBob has a fine solution to the male side of the equation. Some municipalities print the police log sheet listing all people arrested for any crime in the paper. Wonder why they do this?
It is just one of many deterrents available to fight some kind – even a little bit.
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A few months ago I was driving somewhere and saw a couple dozen men and women picking up trash by the side of the road. All wore vests imprinted with “I am a drunk driver.” It seemed to me like a good idea–take away the anonymity of going to court; bring the people out in public to let other people see. Not only will the offenders themselves think twice, but some drivers might!
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Night Train,
Qwerty was banned. He went too far.
*****
In regards to “shaming”, I think it’s already losing it’s punch. As more and more judges have turned to the practice, people have become used to seeing it and don’t think about it much.
It’s just like the punishment for DUI’s, etc. of picking up trash on the roadside. That was all the rage for awhile as a punishment, and people noticed it. It was thought that it would shame people into behaving. It didn’t work. Now, who among us thinks anything about it when we drive by the people picking up trash along the highway? We hardly give it a second thought because it’s so common now.
When the cold, impersonal arm of the state tries to shame people it doesn’t usually work. Here are some things that I think would work:
1. When the individuals who are a part of a offender’s life shows him (or her) the resulting fall-out (children they won’t get to see, loss of companionship, emotional and physical damage, etc.).
2. Having the offender face his victim, and see the damage they have done to their life.
3. Restitution, which makes both the victim and the offender “whole” again as much as possible.
Nothing works perfectly, and some people can never be shamed into doing right. I just don’t think warehousing people in prison, or using the state to try and shame them are good solutions.
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Anlir: Numbers 1 and 2 sound pretty shameful, if you ask me. Aren’t you ashamed of suggesting them?
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Anlir’s suggestions sound very good. I think they also sound very similar to what Justice Fellowship (associated with Prison Fellowship) recommends.
From their website:
Justice Fellowship promotes criminal justice reforms that reflect a notion of justice that seeks to:
Recognize the needs of crime victims in the criminal justice system (e.g. victims’ rights and restitution);
Hold offenders accountable to their victims and to society by providing them with opportunities to become productive, law-abiding citizens (e.g. victim restitution, alternatives to incarceration, community restitution, substance abuse treatment); and
Involve communities in the criminal justice process so that they become part of the solution in addressing the harms caused by crime (e.g. victim assistance, mentoring, assisting ex-offenders with finding a job.)
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Regarding shame, I think there is a “good” kind of shame and a “bad” kind – though obviously both make you feel bad. The difference is what kind of changes they motivate you to make.
“Good” shame is what you feel for doing something you know was morally wrong. You know you look bad not only to other people (at least those that have a reasonably good moral compass) but to yourself and to God. You are motivated to change your behavior to do what is right, which includes asking forgiveness and making restitution where appropriate.
“Bad” shame is what you feel because other people disapprove of what you did, whether it was actually morally wrong or not. I am motivated by this to hide what I did, more than to stop doing it. And if what I did was not even wrong, but simply not socially acceptable in a certain group, I will be paying attention to how to be socially acceptable (even when sometimes it means doing the wrong thing) rather than to doing what is right. Even if I stop doing something wrong because of this kind of shame, it is unlikely to involve repentance, because my focus is on what other people think rather than my conscience or God.
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I suppose if you want to label my suggestions as “shame” that’s fine. I won’t quibble over the label.
Individuals are pretty good at shaming other people. I don’t think the state is very good at it. Like most things, once you filter it through a government bureaucracy, the end result is cold and devoid of meaning.
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Anlir: All I know is that if I were an offender who was 1. shown the resulting fall-out (children they won’t get to see, loss of companionship, emotional and physical damage, etc.) of my crime, or 2: had to face my victim, and see the damage (i) had done to their life, those are both very shameful things.
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Speaking of shame, we need to sentence Lynn to write a post reprising her accusations regarding Beauchamp – Col. Boylan – TNR. I know it hurts, but Lynn needs to recant the “recant” word.
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A guy named Braithwaite introduced Reintegrative Shaming to the arsenal of deterrent strategies used by the criminal justice system. It has a place and its biblical. However, shaming is different from humiliation. I hope to see more creative sentences use it particularly with juveniles who are so governed by peer pressure.
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Logically, Marjorie Cohn’s argument must include the “incredible invasion of the privacy” of sex offenders on the National Sex Offender Public Registry website “nsopr.gov”.
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I wonder what effect the posting of these pictures will have on girls who want to leave prostitution behind. Will it make it harder if others’ have such easy access to knowledge of their past?
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