Transcript
  • 00:01    |    
    Initial credits
  • 00:30    |    
    The concept of crime: public and private harm
  • 01:50    |    
    History of the development of justice systems
  • 02:15    |    
    How things worked in the Anglo-Saxon England before the invention of crime by the State
    • Private harm
    • The system of tidings
    • The restitution system
    • The role of Anglo-Saxon kings in the judiciary system
      • Representation of foreigners
      • The development of the business of justice
      • Increase of the king's piece
  • 09:45    |    
    Norman invasion: elimination of the restitution system
    • First use of the term crime (13th century)
    • Elimination of the system of tidings
    • Destruction of the policing system
    • Increase of criminal actions
  • 15:09    |    
    Current criminal situation
    • Modern criminal justice system: a common pool problem
      • Definition of common pool
      • Allocation of criminal justice resources
    • Results of reporting a crime: low clearance rate
      • Results of a victimization survey
      • Focus of the criminal justice system
  • 21:03    |    
    Alternative proposals to solving crime in the United States
    • Advocating for a substantial decriminalization
    • Private harms instead of public harms
    • Creation of incentives for the victim to reporting crimes
  • 23:30    |    
    Crime watch programs and private crime control
    • Crime control in the railroad industry
    • Victimization insurance
  • 27:05    |    
    System of restitution: dealing with poor criminals
    • Experimental work programs
      • State victim compensation program
      • Results of the prison work programs
    • Absence of a restitution system in the United States
  • 31:04    |    
    Potential of a restitution system: the situation in Japan
    • Role of a mediator
    • Compensation of the victim and punishment of the criminal
    • Consequences of this system
      • Clearance rate
      • Crime rates
      • Repetition of crime rates
  • 36:26    |    
    Alternative solution to crime: decriminalization
  • 37:16    |    
    Consequences of an inefficient criminal justice system
  • 38:08    |    
    Question and answer period
    • If private harm is implemented in a justice system, what incentives can be created to enforce the commitments arranged by the victim and then criminal besides the State's action?
    • Do you think that a compensation victim program can be useful in Latin America? How can those programs be implemented?
    • What would be a fair quantification mechanism to restitute rich victims and poor victims?
    • How does the private security, corporative security, and federal security deal with people's privacy?
    • By implementing the system of restitution, are you establishing a market process where the optimum point is restitution for the victim and a minor punishmentn for the criminal? How does restitution theory deal when there are various victims or criminals? Would you need an arbitrator?
  • 59:28    |    
    Final credits


Alternative Solutions to Crime

New Media  | 09 de marzo de 2005  | Vistas: 3413

About this video

Bruce Benson opens his lecture with an interesting statement: Crime is a government invention.  He talks about the evolution that the concept of crime has had over the years and explains that many of the offenses we know as crimes today were at one time in history treated not as offenses against the state but against the individuals.  He comments on some private alternatives that are practiced in the United States to manage crime, such as insurance companies and prison work programs.  He also mentions the system used in Japan, where there is a consensus between the victim and the criminal.  Finally, he mentions the idea of decriminalization as an alternative solution to crime and comments on the benefits that private security has over public security.



References

  • Centro para el Análisis de las Decisiones Públicas here

About the interuniversity seminars



Credits

Alternative Solutions to Crime
Bruce Benson

Aula Magna
Universidad Mariano Gálvez de Guatemala
Guatemala, March 9, 2005

New Media - UFM production. Guatemala, March 2005
Camera 1: Jorge Samayoa; camera 2: Rodrigo Escalante; digital editing: Alexander Arauz; index: Christiaan Ketelaar; GML: Pedro David España




Conferencista

Bruce Benson is senior fellow at the Independent Institute, the DeVoee…