Utilitarianism and Policing in the United States

• Published date: 01 September 2021
• Author: Daniel S. Nagin
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567719850244
• Date: 01 September 2021
• Subject Matter: Bentham and Police

Bentham and Police

Utilitarianism and Policing

in the United States

Daniel S. Nagin

1

Abstract

Jeremy Bentham, the father of modern utilitarianism, ranks among the most influential nineteenth

century philosophers. Michael Quinn’s (2019) essay, “Bentham on Preventive Policing”, is a

reminder that, in addition, Bentham pioneered what we now call “policy analysis.” In so doing, the

Quinn essay illustrates that policy analysis, at its best, can also be path breaking scholarship. In this

response to Quinn’s excellent essay, I have attempted to demonstrate how Bentham’s revolutionary

ideas about social justice remain as important today as they were two centuries ago.

Keywords

law enforcement/security, police processes, crime/delinquency theory

Jeremy Bentham, the father of modern utilitarianism, ranks among the most influential 19th-

century philosophers. Quinn’s (2021) essay, “Bentham on Preventive Policing,” is a reminder that,

in addition, Bentham pioneered what we now call “policy analysis.” In so doing, the Quinn essay

illustrates that policy analysis, at its best, can also be pathbreaking scholarship.

The Quinn essay is well-timed, too. Public attention to policing is episodic. Policing again is a hot

button issue in the United States. The death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson, MO,

police officer—followed in quick succession by other instances of police use of deadly force—

spawned protests, heated debates, riots, and social movements such as Black Lives Matter.

Bentham’s (1970) dictum is that the greatest good to the greatest number is morally right. In this

comment, I remark about how neglecting this dictum contributes to needless social costs and a

regrettable level of distrust of the police in many communities, particularly those composed mostly

of disadvantaged minorities.

Utilitarianism requires a balancing of costs and benefits. It is surprising how often this principle is

neglected in policy debates about the police, even as utilitarian arguments are othe rwise being

advanced by supporters of policy alternatives. In an essay with Cynthia Lum, “Reinventing Amer-

ican Policing: A Seven-Point Blueprint for the 21st Century” (Lum & Nagin, 2017), we make the

uncontroversial argument that two major goals of policing shou ld be building and maintaining

community trust in the police and preventing crime and keeping citizens safe. We then observe

1

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Daniel S. Nagin, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Email: dn03@andrew.cmu.edu

International CriminalJustice Review

2021, Vol. 31(3) 260-262

ª2019 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/1057567719850244

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