Specific deterrence focuses on the individual committing the crimes and is punished for wrongdoing.
General deterrence uses people who commit crimes as example to the rest of the population. They use it as a way to deter others from committing the same mistakes. (Bourassa, 2019) A significant non-violent crime in my area is possession. Possession and manufacturing of narcotics is a growing problem in not only my town but my state as a whole. It seems it’s a lot of the same people as well. To me that signifies our justice system here isn’t doing enough or employing enough punishment or resources to fix the problem. For the first conviction it’s a misdemeanor, including a fine or up to one year in jail. I have never seen this here. Second conviction, a slightly higher fine and one year in jail, or no fine and 2 years in prison, Third and subsequent convictions, another fine and up to 5 years in prison (Steiner, 2013). I think restorative justice approach can be effective, to those who are utilizing the drugs produced here. But to the ones making and distributing I don’t know. We have so many repeat offenders, so I don’t think there is much remorse for their crimes.