Do people want optimal deterrence?

Two studies test whether people believe in optimal deterrence. The first pr ovides people with personal injury cases that are identical except for vari ations in the probability of detection and explores whether lower probabili ty cases produce higher punitive damage awards and whether higher probabili ty cases produce lower awards. No such effect is observed. The second asks people whether they agree or disagree with administrative and judicial poli cies that increase penalties when the probability of detection is low and d ecrease penalties when the probability of detection is high. Substantial ma jorities reject these administrative and judicial policies. Policy implicat ions for the role of the jury in achieving deterrence are explored.