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In a comment on J. R. Clark & Dwight R. Lee's (1996 [see abstract 9714012]) article on the crisis of prison space in the US & resulting sentence length reductions, two competing hypotheses regarding longer sentences are discussed: (1) Extended prison time merely produces more hardened criminals. (2) Longer sentences tend to deter subsequent criminal activity. Also considered are Clark & Lee's use of the Laffer curve & their view that the lag in prison construction is due to political myopia, rather than construction costs. 10 References. S. Stanton

Abstract. Since Gary Becker's article on the economics of crime and punishment, economists have explored extensively the possible deterrence effect of standard enforcement variables, not only for their public policy implications but to test the hypothesis that illegitimate behavior is sensitive to measures of risk and reward (loss) as well as social, psychological and cultural forces. Research has been needed on the probability of death to the offender caused by official police action—"lethal response." To measure the criminal reaction to intercity variations in the rate of civilian killings of police in the line of duty, a cross‐sectional study of 57 cities was undertaken. Variations in non‐homicide violent crime rate were found to be inversely related to variations in the intercity lethal response rate. this suggests the presence of a deterrence effect, a one Sixth of one percent decrease in the rate of non‐homicide violent crime being associated with a one percent increase in the lethal response rate.

Perception of weather's causal influence was examined. Using a revised model of the attributional process, predicted that the weather's perceived influence would be greater for observers than for actors, for affective states than for behaviors, for negative affective states and behavior than for positive ones, and for individuals with an external rather than internal locus of control. Subjects were asked to rate weather's influence on 50 affective states and 108 behaviors. Based on previous ratings of their social desirability value, half of the items in each category were positively valued and half negatively. Some subjects were asked to rate the weather's influence on themselves and some on other people. Subjects also completed Rotter's Locus of Control scale using a Likert response format. Analysis of variance on the weather influence ratings supported the first, second, and last hypotheses but not the third. Positive feelings and behavior were rated as being more heavily influenced than negative ones.

Abstract. Six attempts to measure the deterrence effect of law enforcement on certain criminal activities, as well as one by the author, have produced no clear, unequivocal evidence to support the belief that increased public expenditures on law enforcement have a deterrent effect on such activity. Yet the effect may exist. Further research into the measurement of the variables crime and enforcement and upon the nature of the relationship between them must be carried on before definite conclusions can be reached about the existence of the deterrence effect.