Shaming

If harsher punishments worked, arguably America would lead the world in crime reduction. However despite a prison population that has doubled, the crime rate in America continues to increase. In fact, only one country (Japan) in the world has actually managed to reduce their crime rate, having also the lowest per capita imprisonment rate in the world. The Japanese attribute their success to the process of reintegrative shaming, a process of confession, repentance and absolution. Where deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation are all seen to have been less successful, any solution to crime control demands our consideration.
According to Braithwaite, shame plays a key role in the regulation of social behavior (Braithwaite, 1989).

The majority of people have an ‘anxiety response’ to deviant behavior and this response makes most criminal behavior abhorrent to them. It is fear of this response, not the threat of the criminal justice system, which stops people from committing crime. Such internal control is a powerful tool that begins in the family, where “morals are clearly drawn and bad deeds identified”. Even when this internal control fails us, a second form of external shaming through social disapproval by persons whose acceptance we value, serves to reinstate our conscience to where it should be.

Using shaming as a tool for controlling bad behavior or crime faces as many problems as any other method of tackling this issue. A lot of work needs to be done in order to restore the mutual trust between those given responsibility for applying it, and those offenders receiving it. So, yes shaming could work to control behavior if applied and reinforced in the right