Do civil and criminal sanctions ensure compliance with the law?

Answer 1

No. That is why our courts are filled with cases and our prisons are full of criminals.

Answer 2

Nothing ensures compliance with the law. Punishment is designed to make people think twice before breaking the law. One author said, "It is not the severity of punishment that deters one from breaking the law, it is the certainty of it."

I don't think that generally, people are basically evil. I think they are basically gamblers. If they think they can get away with something... they are inclined to try. I think almost everybody does it. They drive a little fast. They coast a little through stop signs. They pad resumes. They cheat on their spouses. They break the law. And they do it because they believe that they can get away with it. And, apparently many do.

But if you knew that the instant your car went over the posted speed limit, you would get a $500 fine. No court date. No traffic school. You get a bill in the mail for $500. I'll bet that most people wouldn't go within 5 miles of the posted speed limit. But what if you don't pay the fine... see what I mean? Well, let's say you have ten days from the date on the citation to pay the fine. On the eleventh day, if you haven't paid it, you wake up and find that you now owe $5000 and that you no longer have a car. Too strict? Not if one doesn't intend to break the law. All one has to do is obey the law in the first place, and pay his or her fines in the second. In this case there is no gamble. It's a sure thing. If you break the law, you lose.

It's a sad sate of affairs when we must resort to such stuff. But people are what they are. And a lot of them are breaking the law.

Answer 3

Civil and criminal sanctions can and do work. Of course, were the ethic that there is some good in everyone true, they would have a better chance of success.
If you uphold the law, you cannot be punished by the law. If you break the law ......
Our prisons are full of people who, for some silly reason, thought that they could flout the law and not pay the price. Sad, but true.

Answer 4

Sometimes. I work in corrections and what I see in the inmates is not what I learned in college. I would say that 75% of the inmates state that they were not in their "right" state of mind when they committed their crimes. Now, I understand that inmates can say anything, and they do. But I've seen them come in under the influence of alcohol/drugs. I've seen inmates brought in who have not been taking their medications. I have seen the "frequent flyers" come in. We manage their mental health medications, and they have no access to intoxicants, and one they dry out and clean up they are decent human beings. Thus, Civil and Criminal Sanctions do not apply when the person's perception of reality differs from reality.

There are other inmates who have no regard for others. They are selfish and self centered. They feel that if they are not caught, they are not guilty. Even if they are caught, they don't recognize the authority of the government. For them, government is just a bigger bully.

Answer 5

No, not full compliance. But they do serve as a deterrence to those who might casually think about law-breaking.

Answer 6

No. They serve only as punishment to the one who has been caught.

Answer 7

I dont think so because criminals are not learning from there mistakes.

Answer 8

No other wise there would be no crime being commited on a daily basis.

Answer 9

No, that is why criminals are criminals, they don't obey the law.

Answer 10

no, because nothing is working anymore, as they keep re offending,keep safe all the best