Abstract
This article explores the relationship between governmental deterrence, crime, and the strength of social norms against crime. Based on experimental research in psychology and economics, I argue that the strength of the social norm of "not committing a crime" is shaped by social interactions. Modeling these social interactions exhibits self-reinforcing processes of crime and multiple equilibria. As for the impact of governmental deterrence, I show that harsher governmental deterrence reduces crime directly as well as indirectly through its impact on social norms.