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Could and should new technologies help achieve perfect deterrence?

By Douglas A. Berman

This amusing article, which is headlined "Fantasy iPhone applications: 20 apps we would like to see," provides a technology suggestion that might help criminal deterrence work even better: Below we present 20 iPhone apps that we would like to see.  Some will remain the stuff of fantasy without bolt-on hardware, but others should not be too difficult for developers to create.... 6) Jail time Provides instant sentencing guidelines for the most common offences, so would-be criminals can make informed choices. I like this idea so much, I am inclined to support its development beyond just an iPhone application.  What if a program like this was pre-loaded on to every computer and could provide a pop-up window every time a computer user seemed to be doing something hinky?  I  would certainly like to believe that many folks would stop using their computers for sex crimes if they were effectively informed about how harsh the guideline sentencing ranges have become for these crimes in the federal system.continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 26, 2009 (boomark / email).