This argument assumes that crime is more a function of diverse social-psychological and social-structural phenomena than it is of legal sanctions and that crime levels affects criminal justice practices just as much as such practices affect levels of crime. Likewise, punishment is more likely to be effective in deterring crime when it is needed the least, i.e., where crime rates are already low. The author discusses issues related to the study of deterrence as a means of crime control, reviews studies of criminal deterrence, presents and elaborates upon the system capacity model of criminal justice, and provides an empirical analysis that documents and explores the capacity phenomenon. Current criminal justice practices, especially the extremely low probability of certain and severe punishment, indicate that the efficacy of deterrence as punishment is likely to be minimal. The more violators put into the criminal justice system, the less capable it becomes of controlling crime effectively through deterrence. The results suggest that deterrence is not a valid basis for increasing criminal justice resources or for allocating more funds to 'fight against crime.' Appendixes, figures, tables, notes for each chapter, and a selected bibliography are supplied.