A total of 550 Federal inmates were questioned on perceived threat of punishment for various crimes, offense and conviction histories, and attitudes about crime and punishment. Self-administered questionnaires and personal interviews were used. For the offenders in aggregate, experiences with crime and criminal sanctions did not significantly change their attidues toward crime and punishment. For experienced offenders, punishment had no substantial direct effect on perceived threat. For first offenders, the experience of punishment was related to an increased perception of the future threat of punishment. This may deter some first offenders from future crimes, but other factors may be more powerful than the perception of punishment, such as personal and social characteristics, the type of offense contemplated, and offenders' beliefs about why they were caught for previous crimes. Offenders with extensive criminal histories tend to accept arrest and punishment as risks worth the potential benefits of crime. Punishment may also be a status symbol in the criminal subculture. 3 tables, 19 notes, and 57 references.