Gone are the days of pick-pockets and traditional thieves stealing your money and wrist-watches right off of your body. The deviants of today are turning to a safer and easier alternative to gain access to your possessions – the internet. Rational choice theory as defined by Frank Schmalleger in his text Criminology is “a perspective that holds that criminality is the result of a conscious choice and predicts that individuals choose to commit crime when the benefits outweigh the costs of disobeying the law” (2014, p. 26). The internet decreases these costs and increases the convenience of committing a crime for anyone interested, compared to traditional in-person crimes. Anyone who can use a computer is equipped to become a cyber-criminal.
One of today’s most valuable possessions is information. Whether it is personal information, bank routing numbers, private shopping preferences or trade secrets, information is the item everyone is trying to gain or protect. The current ability to access free information on such a multitude of topics is part of what makes the choice to commit cyber-crime so “cost” effective. A search on Google.com for “how to hack” turns up 289,000,000 results in .26 seconds! A quick internet search is all it takes for someone who previously would have had to work up the courage to “bump” into someone and the skill to silently pinch their wallet on a crowded street. A few clicks and they can effortlessly pinch private information out of someone’s computer, usually without their knowledge of the theft or the pain of having to meet your victim. “In terms of the root causes of crime, the Internet has provided extraordinary opportunities for financial crimes, mischief, and the destruction of infrastructure”...
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...uld be protecting your smartphone and tablet data. 72% of Internet users have at least basic antivirus software on their computers, compared to only 33% of smartphone users, leaving 77% of smartphone users alone, vulnerable to hackers (Symantec, 2013, p.6). Protecting your information requires some simple changes that are easy to implement. Firstly, it is important to use different passwords for each log-in as well as create passwords with varied case-structure and include special characters and numbers. Secondly, log-out of all pages visited, rather than closing the window. Thirdly, implement regular scans of your system with anti-virus software to help catch any intrusions before they can cause too much damage. Modern anti-virus software is constantly updating itself to be on the look-out for the newest viruses and malware as its made known to the industry.
For instance, rational actors whereby offenders weigh the potential risks and benefits of committing an offense and the make a conscious decision on whether to commit a crime. In digital crime, the criminals chose to commit a computer crime. Also, offenders must be aware of the penalty for a particular crimes. In digital crime, offenders are argued not to know the potential penalties they face for particular crimes. In addition, the offenders must view the risks as unpleasant, thus, if a computer criminal do not think confinement and incarceration is hostile, then the criminal will not deter.
There are numerous theories as to why a crime is committed. Rational choice theory, which is a subset of classical theory, says that before people commit a crime they think about what they are going to do. They weigh the pros and cons before committing the criminal act. The rational choice theory is well suited for the causation of burglary. The support for this theory is that burglars do not commit crime for the fun of it or just because they want to. It is usually because they need money to keep their heads above water. In their situation, they do not see any other way than to steal to make a living. The opposition for rational choice theory is that criminals do not think before they act as they may be incapable of thinking rationally in the first place.
Criminals use the rational choice theory in society when they are trying to avoid any kind of pain and are in a mindset of looking for pleasure. Criminals find the easiest way to have fun and find a ...
According to Criminology: The Core, written by Larry Siegel, in order to be a career criminal, one must have committed crimes and participated in antisocial behaviors starting from adolescence well into adulthood (Siegel), and according to reporters at WGLC- TV Atlanta, Phyllis Peterson of Georgia certainly fits that description. Phyllis Peterson, 41, was accused of living in a half million-dollar home for nearly five years rent-free (CBS46). According to WGLC-TV Atlanta, Peterson’s criminal record dates back to the mid- 1990s. From the information gathered from chapter 9 of Siegel’s work and Aging Out, one can clearly make connections to which theory, and associated path, of criminal development Peterson most likely falls under, the influence
White-collar crime is the financially motivated illegal acts that are committed by the middle and upper class through their legitimate business or government activities. This form of crime was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Linden, 2016). Crime has often been associated with the lower class due to economic reasons. However, Sutherland stressed that the Criminal Justice System needed to acknowledge illegal business activity as crime due to the repercussions they caused and the damage they can cause to society (Linden, 2016). Crime was prevalently thought to only be
Faceless-oriented policing comprises of guardians who see the internet being utilized as a faceless venue to commit crimes and what benefits their investigation of these crimes is that they view the cyber investigator and the offender both as faceless entities. (Walker, Brock, & Stuart, 2006) Most cyber criminals engage in the routine activities approach to crime, which suggests that criminal behavior often occur due to these three components: motivated offender; suitable target; and absence of a capable
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
In today’s world, we are all in some way connected to or involved with the Internet, it is really hard not to be. We all use different services that we feel either augment our daily lives or make them more pleasurable every day. We all take a sort of deceitful comfort in the basic inconspicuousness of the Internet. When we think about it, could it end up being the single biggest risk to our own safety? Most people don’t take the threat of cybercrimes as seriously because unfortunately they don’t realize just how life altering these threats are, until it’s too late. There are many types of cybercrime being committed daily that everybody needs to protect themselves from such as identity theft and fraud.
Based on the RCT criminals are thought to make a conscious rational decision before committing crime, they are thought to weight the benefits and costs of committing or not committing the crime. By this method criminals often decide that robbing a bank and possibly going to jail is a better alternative to staying at home and doing nothing when they have just ten days to pay their rent or move and live on the streets. The RCT assumes that all people are capable of making good conscious choices, which it can be strongly argued that many people lack the mental capacity to make a rational decision. It was the rising crime rates of the 70's and 80's that turned people away from other theories such as the classical and neo-classical and onto the RCT which was founded in the late 70's to the early 80's. (Hayward, 2007, p. 234) Under the RCT are the RAT and SCT which will both be explained better later on.
The objective of this paper is to provide insight into Rational Choice Theory. This theory, highly relied upon by many disciplines, is also used to calculate and determine crime and criminal behavior. Through definition, examples and techniques utilized by criminologists, the reader will have a better understanding of the subject. By definition, criminology is the study of crime, criminal behavior, and how it pertains to the law. Criminology is considered a scientific technique.
Critical criminology, also known as radical criminology dates back to the concepts of Marxism. Despite the fact that Fredric Engels and Karl Marx were the founders of contemporary radical criminology, none of them gave explicit focus to crime. William Bonger (1876-1940), a Dutch criminologist was a more direct founder of this concept. It gained popularity during the early 1970s when it tried to explain the causes of contemporary social mayhem. He used economic explanations were used by critical criminology to analyze social behavior by arguing that social and economic inequalities were the main reason behind criminal behavior (Henry & Lainer, 1998). This view reduces the focus on individual criminals and elaborates that the existing crime is as a result of the capitalist system. Just like the conflict school of thought, it asserts that law is biased since it favors the ruling or the upper class and that the legal system that governs the state is meant to maintain the status quo of the ruling class. Critical criminologist are of the view that political, corporate and environmental crime are not only underreported but also inadequately punished by the existing criminal legal system.
Rational choice theory in Criminal Justice focuses on deterrence and how individuals are influenced by some type of factor that makes them engage in crime. This adds to conversation that criminologists started in the 1700’s because they were all about deterring criminals. They wanted the crime to fit the punishment which would deter other criminals from committing that same crime. Rational Choice Theory and Classical criminologists also believed that people committed crimes because they wanted to achieve their desired goals whether it would be for money or their sexual desires. This was based off of free will where people decided if they were going to commit a crime and what the consequences would be if they committed that crime.
Criminology is the study of criminal behavior and laws against crime. Although the criminal field has its flaws, law enforcement tries it’s hardest to keep our country a safe place for us to live. A criminologist responsibility involves analyzing data to determine what crime was committed and finding clues to predict further criminal behavior. That also involves race, ethnicity, education and economic status. Furthermore goes over individually reactions to specific crimes for every type of crimes and punishments for the victims.
Criminology is the study of why individuals engage or commit crimes and the reasons as to why they behave in certain ways in different situations (Hagan, 2010). Through understanding the reasons or why an individual commits a crime, one can come up with ways to prevent and control crime or rehabilitate criminals. There exist a large number of criminology theories, some link crime to an individual or person; they believe a person weighs the cons and pros and makes a conscious decision on whether to commit or not commit a felony. Others see the society as having a duty to make sure that its members do not engage in criminal acts by providing a secure and safe living place. Some claim that some people have hidden or dormant characteristics that determine their reaction or behavior when confronted or put in particular negative conditions (Akers & Sellers, 2012). By understanding and studying these theories, together with applying them to people, psychologists and authorities can prevent criminals from committing or repeating crimes and aid in their rehabilitation. As many theories have emerged over time, they continue to be surveyed and explored, both individually and in combination in order for criminologists to develop solutions and eventually reduce the levels and types of crime. The most popular criminology theories emphasize on the individual, positivist and classical traits. This paper will explore the classical theory, which is among the earliest theories in criminology.
Cybercrime is a global issue plaguing the world. The dictionary defines cybercrime as “crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network”(Merriam-Webster). The definition remains very broad because the word “cyber” is defined as “relating to the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality.” Due to the growing number of people gaining access to the internet, rapid development of technology, and the globalization of the world, more of the world population is becoming susceptible to involvement in cybercrime – whether it be as a victim or a criminal. Cybercrime involves different levels of the world on both the victim and criminal side, from an individual citizen, to small groups, businesses, and the government, to the countries of the world.