vigilante justice, as represented by peer-to-peer punishment, to delegated policing, as represented by the "hired gun" mechanism …

criminal sanctions, and punishment does not deter their conduct. Criminal sanctions are not only unjustified, but counter … adolescent female sexuality via criminalization.This story of regulation as punishment also offers broader insights into the … dynamics and dysfunctions of the criminal law. The high costs of punishment render criminal sanctions an untenable instrument …

This article surveys the theory of the public enforcement of law -- the use of public agents (inspectors, tax auditors …, police, prosecutors) to detect and to sanction violators of legal rules. We first present the basic elements of the theory … examine a variety of extensions of the central theory, concerning accidental harms, costs of imposing fines, errors, general …