Studies generally show that crime deterrence is most likely to be achieved as the probability of arrest, conviction, and punishment increases. As crime increases, public policy usually turns toward an increase in the severity of punishment and the provision of more law enforcement resources, under the assumptions that more criminals will be caught and more severely punished, thus deterring and reducing crime. These assumptions fail to appreciate the limitations of the criminal justice system as a means for controlling crime. In the face of rising crime and the application of a punitive model of crime control, the strain placed upon the criminal justice system makes it incapable of achieving the goals thrust upon it by public policy. Higher clearance rates achieved by the police encourage citizens to report more crime, which calls for ever more police resources. More arrests call for the processing of more cases through the courts, requiring more judicial resources. More punitive and sometimes mandatory prison sentences produce a strain on prison facilities, calling for a greater investment in the housing of offenders. Since increasing crime is often asociated with deteriorating economic conditions, the public is unable to sustain the kind of investment in the criminal justice system called for by the punitive model for deterring and reducing crime. Unrealistic goals are compromised, and piecemeal strategies are adopted to cope with the consequences. Thirty-four references are listed.