Humiliation; incarceration, stigma, loss of respect, humiliation; these and other formal and informal sanctions represent the costs of crime discussed in most research on the decision to offend. Yet, classical theorists recognized other costs, including the possibility of physical harm. We revive this abandoned insight, arguing that danger—the possibility of pain—plays a key role in people’s decisions to offend. Although the state typically eschews inflicting pain, many people including victims, vigilantes, and other offenders may brutalize people who break the law. The physical harm these people inflict is typically more certain, swift, and severe than crime’s other costs and the fear of injury likely deters many potential offenders. Yet, the possibility of pain does not discourage everyone: individuals who boldly believe in their unassailability are unlikely deterred by crime’s potential violence. We test our hypothesis on the effects of danger with data on individuals’ perceptions of crime’s potential costs and benefits and their involvement in three types of crime: theft, drug selling and prostitution. We find that perceptions about danger play a key, but typically neglected role in the genesis of these offenses.