‘Money Rules’: Exploring Offenders’ Perceptions of the Fine as Punishment

Although the fine is often the most commonly used form of punishment, criminology knows little about how offenders conceive of the fine. The present study draws on interviews with 44 offenders in Germany to address this research gap, exploring how offenders use shared ‘patterns of interpretation’ to understand a sentencing decision that can, in the case of fine default, lead to imprisonment. Two ‘clusters’ of patterns are presented here, distinguishable by the extent to which they raise or neglect issues of legitimacy, morality and justice. One pattern—‘Money rules’—is explored in detail, exposing not only the fine’s peculiarities, but also the role played by its pecuniary identity in shaping offenders’ perceptions of the punishment received.