This paper tests predictions of a structural, augmented supply-of-offenders model regarding the relative effects of police, public prosecution and courts, respectively, on crime. Using detailed data on the different stages of the criminal prosecution process in Germany, empirical evidence...

Laws permitting the expungement of criminal convictions are a key component of modern criminal justice reform efforts and have been the subject of a recent upsurge in legislative activity. This debate has been almost entirely devoid of evidence about the laws' effects, in part because the...

On November 14, 2013, Professor Dervan was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force. Available here is his written testimony. In his written testimony, Professor Dervan examines the phenomenon of...

This Article is the third of twelve parts of a set of Model Federal Sentencing Guidelines designed to illustrate the feasibility and advantages of a simplified approach to federal sentencing proposed by the Constitution Project Sentencing Initiative. The Model Sentencing Guidelines and the...

This paper presents a model of penalties that reconciles the conflicting accounts optimal punishment by Becker, who argued penalties should internalize social costs, and Posner, who suggested penalties should completely deter offenses. The model delivers specific recommendations as to when...

Sicherheit ist ein Wirtschaftsgut, weil Sicherheit nützlich und knapp ist. Dieses Gut kann vom Staat als auch von Privaten bereitgestellt werden. Das Paper untersucht (a) den Zusammenhang zwischen Kriminalstrafe und Sicherheit und (b) die Privatisierung der Kriminalitätskontrolle. Es werden...

In diesem Beitrag wird gezeigt, daß der Einwand, Straftäter würden in der ökonomischen konsequentialistischen Straftheorie in einer gegen die Menschenwürde verstoßenden Weise instrumentalisiert, nicht zutrifft. Entgegen Kant wird argumentiert, daß vernunftbegabte Wesen wie etwa der homo...

This paper develops a model in which individuals gain social status among their peers for being 'tough' by committing violent acts. We show that a high penalty for moderately violent acts (zero-tolerance) may yield a double dividend in that it reduces both moderate and extreme violence. The...

Die vorliegende Studie skizziert zunächst die Bedeutung von Wirtschaftskriminalität aus Sicht der deutschen Unternehmen sowie den derzeitigen Forschungsstand zu den Ursachen von Wirtschaftskriminalität. Dabei wird deutlich, dass die Motive von Wirtschaftsstraftätern noch nicht hinreichend...

This paper offers a new argument for why a more aggressive enforcement of minor offenses (zero-tolerance) may yield a double dividend in that it reduces both minor offenses and more severe crime. We develop a model of criminal subcultures in which people gain social status among their peers for...