Makes me think of the panopticon and the book Utopia. One, because the idea is to deter through creating the illusion of constant observation and two because by creating socioeconomic conditions where criminality is the most efficient method for many to secure resources (additional or no), one creates expectations of criminality that are then inconsistently reinforced (i.e., those with the most resources who act in a criminal manner tend to get away with it while those with the fewest resources tend to be publicly punished on enough occasions to discourage their peers.) Are we electrons? We're kind of made up of them, so I guess it makes sense...