The Mirage of Deterrence

By David Abraham April 1, 2025

The American prison system, home to over 1.2 million incarcerated people, exists in large part under the premise of deterrence. The theory says this: harsh consequences discourage individuals from committing crimes. People will weigh the risks and choose lawful behavior over the prospect of incarceration.

And yet, even within the walls of these very institutions, among the officers sworn to uphold the law and who see firsthand the consequences of crime, that theory collapses.

Recent cases from South Carolina to New York have exposed a stark truth: the individuals most surrounded by punishment, correctional officers, continue to commit crimes with alarming frequency and intensity. From smuggling contraband to brutal beatings and sexual misconduct, these are not just minor policy violations—they are serious crimes that, if committed outside prison walls, would be called what they are: violent and felonious.

If deterrence were effective, prison guards, daily witnesses to suffering and long sentences, should be among the most law-abiding. But that isn’t the case. And what that says about deterrence theory warrants a reckoning.

Deterrence Theory: A Flawed Foundation

Deterrence, one of the oldest justifications for criminal punishment, rests on the assumption that people make rational choices. It posits that the threat or experience of punishment will make someone less likely to offend in the future (specific deterrence) and will also dissuade others from committing crimes (general deterrence).

This logic has underpinned “tough on crime” legislation for decades: mandatory minimums, three-strikes laws, and lengthy prison sentences. The idea is simple—if the punishment is severe enough, people will avoid crime altogether.

But theory often diverges from reality, especially in environments saturated with power imbalances, secrecy, and corruption—like prisons.

So Why Isn’t Deterrence Working?

These cases reveal more than individual moral failures. They highlight systemic flaws in the deterrence model.

1. Proximity Does Not Equal Prevention: Seeing punishment daily does not make someone less likely to offend. If anything, constant exposure can desensitize and normalize it.

2. Culture of Impunity: In many facilities, a “code of silence” protects staff from accountability. Misconduct is often handled internally, with criminal charges reserved for only the most public incidents.

3. Institutional Rot: Low pay, poor oversight, and toxic work environments foster corruption. Officers may feel overworked, undervalued, and morally disengaged—factors criminologists link to higher rates of unethical behavior.

4. Abuse of Power: The power differential inside prisons makes misconduct easy to hide and hard to prosecute. When officers cross legal lines, it’s often dismissed as a policy violation, not a crime.

What This Means for the Public

If people most exposed to the consequences of crime continue to commit it, what does that say about deterrence?

It suggests that fear of punishment is a weak force when weighed against opportunity, culture, and personal motivation. It calls into question decades of policies built on the premise that longer sentences or harsher conditions will prevent crime.

The problem isn’t that prison isn't scary enough. It’s that fear alone does not guide human behavior.

A Better Way Forward

Rather than doubling down on punishment, a more effective path lies in prevention, accountability, and system-wide reform.

• Transparency: Officer misconduct should be tracked, reported, and prosecuted with the same urgency as offenses committed by incarcerated individuals.

• Rehabilitation Over Retaliation: When correctional environments prioritize punishment over rehabilitation, they foster aggression on all sides.

• Cultural Change in Corrections: Officers need better training, higher pay, and a professional code that rewards ethics—not silence or dominance.

• Alternatives to Deterrence-Based Sentencing: Restorative justice, community intervention, and mental health support address root causes of crime in ways that punishment does not.

Deterrence is a Mirage

Deterrence is not just a flawed theory—it’s a dangerous illusion when used as the foundation for a punitive justice system. The misconduct of correctional officers proves this in stark, undeniable terms.

These are not men and women unaware of the consequences of crime. They are surrounded by those consequences daily. And yet, they offend—sometimes violently, sometimes repeatedly, often without consequence.

If prisons can’t deter their own enforcers, how can we expect them to reform anyone else?

It’s time to confront this contradiction, not with more punishment, but with accountability, reform, and a new understanding of justice—one rooted in humanity, not fear.