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Deterring domestic violence: Do criminal sanctions reduce repeat offenses?

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  • Frank Sloan
  • Alyssa Platt
  • Lindsey Chepke
  • Claire Blevins

Abstract

This study presents an empirical analysis of domestic violence case resolution in North Carolina for the years 2004 to 2010. The key hypothesis is that penalties at the level set for domestic violence crimes reduce recidivism (re-arrest on domestic violence charges or conviction in 2 years following an index arrest). We use state court data for all domestic violence-related arrests. Decisions to commit an act of domestic violence are based on a Bayesian process of updating subjective beliefs. Individuals have prior beliefs about penalties for domestic violence based on actual practice in their areas. An individual’s experience with an index arrest leads to belief updating. To address endogeneity of case outcomes, we use an instrumental variables strategy based on decisions of prosecutors and judges assigned to each index arrest in our sample. Contrary to our hypothesis, we find that penalities, at least as set at the current levels, do not deter future arrests and convictions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Sloan & Alyssa Platt & Lindsey Chepke & Claire Blevins, 2013. "Deterring domestic violence: Do criminal sanctions reduce repeat offenses?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 51-80, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrisku:v:46:y:2013:i:1:p:51-80
    DOI: 10.1007/s11166-012-9159-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marek Jenöffy, 2023. "Can the Seesaw Model Depict the Certainty Effect?," Working Papers hal-04136569, HAL.
    2. Rachel Nesbit, 2022. "The Role of Mandated Mental Health Treatment in the Criminal Justice System," Papers 2212.06736, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    3. Braakmann, Nils, 2013. "Deterrence and age thresholds in punishment in British criminal law," MPRA Paper 44886, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Lisa R. Anderson & Gregory DeAngelo & Winand Emons & Beth Freeborn & Hannes Lang, 2017. "Penalty Structures And Deterrence In A Two-Stage Model: Experimental Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1833-1867, October.
    5. Marek Jenöffy-Lochau, 2013. "Information, Credibility, and Endogenous Preferences," Post-Print hal-04139636, HAL.
    6. Joni Hersch, 2018. "Valuing the risk of workplace sexual harassment," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 111-131, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Domestic violence; Deterrence; Subjective beliefs; Prosecutors; Judges; K14; K36; K42;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K36 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Family and Personal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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