Which type of deterrence is aimed at preventing a particular individual from reoffending?

Which type of deterrence is aimed at preventing a particular individual from reoffending?

• A. General Deterrence
• B. Specific Deterrence
• C. Incapacitation
• D. Rehabilitation

Answer: (B)

The idea here is to deter crime by targeting the individual offender. Specific deterrence aims to prevent a particular person from reoffending by making the consequences of crime personally salient to them. When a person experiences punishment, the goal is that the future costs of crime feel real enough to discourage them from committing more crimes. This differs from general deterrence, which tries to scare society at large into not offending; incapacitation, which removes the offender’s ability to offend by removing them from society; and rehabilitation, which seeks to reform the offender so they won’t commit crimes in the future. For example, a prison sentence is intended to deter that specific offender from committing further crimes by instilling a memorable consequence they want to avoid.