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History of Fines

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Overview

Criminal fines are monetary penalties paid to the state by offenders (Hillsman 1992). This sanction has several advantages over other types of penalties (Hillsman 1988; Zender 2004: 206). For one, it incorporates the penal functions of retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation (Ashworth 2000). In addition, the amount of the fine can be tailored to the seriousness of the particular crime and to the specific individual’s criminal history and resources (Uglow 1995). Furthermore, it allows the offender to remain in the community, maintain economic and social bonds (Radzinowicz and Hood 1996), and avoid secondary effects of incarceration, such as loss of employment and forcing dependents to rely on public assistance (Ruback and Bergstorm 2006). Moreover, the criminal fine is inexpensive to administer and can be enforced by existing criminal agencies (Klein 1998). Finally, criminal fines provide income for the state (Einat 2008).

Accordingly, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the...

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Recommended Reading and References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Tomer Einat

Authors
  1. Tomer Einat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomer Einat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Einat, T. (2014). History of Fines. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_275

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_275

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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