NIJ’s in-person seminar series is held periodically in Washington, D.C. and features research that is changing our thinking about policies and practices. The seminars are recorded before a live audience and published on the NIJ Web site about 10 days after the event.
Don’t Jump the Shark: Understanding Deterrence and Legitimacy in the Architecture of Law Enforcement
Tracey Meares, Deputy Dean and Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Yale University School of Law
When: Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 1:30–3:00 p.m.
Where: Office of Justice Programs, 3rd Floor Ballroom
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC
RSVP: Contact Yolanda Curtis at Yolanda.Curtis@usdoj.gov or 202-305-2554.
Deterrence theory currently dominates the American understanding of how to regulate criminal behavior. However, over the last 20 years, social psychologists have learned that other approaches are effective, too. Their research shows that people comply for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with fear of punishment; they have to do with values, fair procedures and how people connect with one another.
Professor Meares will discuss the relevance of social psychologists’ emerging theory to legal theory and practice and how deterrence and emerging social psychology theories intertwine. She will describe her own action-oriented research in urban police departments where she has attempted to integrate the findings from social psychology with deterrence and violence reduction strategies. For more information visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov.