How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment

This is the talk I gave at NYU’s Hoffinger Colloquium this spring.

Everything I’ve learned about crime over 40 years, in 60 minutes.

It’s a mix of theoretical principles and practical suggestions.

“We massively over-punish
and haven’t gotten much in the way of results.
That doesn’t prove that punishment doesn’t work.
It just means we’re doing it wrong.”

Talk starts about 4 minutes in.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

6 thoughts on “How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment”

  1. Just watched it. It does a great job of summarizing Mark's insights over the years about crime and punishment . He is our outstanding public policy thinker on these issues.

  2. I am interested but I have a short attention span for online video. Is it rude if I ask for a transcript? (My grasp of web etiquette is not what I could wish.) I can email the center if that’s better.

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