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Rational choice in criminology
Rational choice theory criminology paper
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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.
One aspect in the Rational Choice theory that relates to deterrence and classical theorists is Routine Activity theory. Routine Activity Theory is when people are victimized because of everyday interactions. These three factors that cause people to be victimized include people that seem vulnerable enough to be victimized, places where there aren’t a lot of police activity and proper guardianship are places where people will most likely be victimized, and when a person wants to commit or is thinking about committing a crime, that person will most likely commit that crime. This theory is based off of people’s rational choice to and their free will to commit a crime. Classical criminologists like Cesare Beccaria, believed that people who made rational choices to commit a crime, their punishment should
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Cesare Beccaria who was coined the father of criminology, helped form the way our criminal justice system today in the way that we look at deterring criminals and reducing crime. The Rational Choice Theory added to the conversation started by Classical Criminologists as it relates to reducing
Pratt, T. C. (2008). Rational Choice theory, criminal control policy, and criminology relevance. Policy essay, 43-52.
According to the text, Rational Choice Theory is comprised of two main thoughts, and they are, although people consider and are fully aware of the repercussion of the crimes they are about to commit, they proceed with the act, the second thought is that people will chose to commit a crime if they believe the benefit is greater. (Vito, 2007). In an article titled “Choosing White Color Crimes”, the rational choice theory has always been the acceptable method of interpreting and sustaining programs that help to combat crime (Shover, n.d.). Criminologists, Derek Cornish and Ronald Clark, clarify the two categories of the decision making process, the first one being criminal involvement, and the second one being criminal event.
The study of criminology involves many different theories in which people attempt to explain reasoning behind criminal behavior. Although there are many different theories the focus of this paper is the comparison and contrasting sides of The Differential Association Theory (DAT) of Edwin Sutherland and the Neoclassicism Rational Choice Theory. The Differential Theory falls under Social Process Theories which focuses on sociological perspective of crime. The Rational Choice Theory falls under Neoclassicism which believes that criminal behavior is ultimately a choice.
Criminological theories interpret the competing paradigms of Human Nature, Social Order, Definition of Crime, Extent and Distribution of Crime, Causes of Crime, and Policy, differently. Even though these theories have added to societies understanding of criminal behaviour, all have been unable to explain why punishment or treatment of offenders is unable to prevent deviancy, and thus are ineffective methods of control. The new penology is a contemporary response that favours the management of criminals by predicting future harm on society. However, all criminological theories are linked as they are a product of the historical time and place, and because of their contextual history, they will continue to reappear depending on the current state of the world, and may even be reinvented.
The rational choice theory comes from the classical theory which is based off of personal choice towards criminal behavior. Criminal behavior under the rational choice theory has been due to the free thinking of society and has always been because of a specific thought process of personal vendettas. For example, a jealous person may feel the need to do something physically illegal like punching another person in the face because the benefit of gratitude is worth the risk of consequence. The example above is part of the rational choice theory and the reason is because that particular person weighed the costs and benefits of their illegal action. Rational choice theory is a vision where crime is a functionality of the decision-making process of the criminal in which they weigh the costs and benefits of an illegal act in society (Siegel, 2011).
Akers, Ronald L. "Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories." Criminology Theories Introduction and Evaluation. 2nd ed. New York: Roxbury, 1999. Print.
The index crime I have chosen for this paper is murder. The theory I believe that best defines why people commit murder is the rational choice theory. The rational choice theory implies that people who commit this offense know that killing is wrong and that a punishment may follow if they are caught. They are fully aware of what they are doing and they deliberately plan and successfully murders someone. A perfect example of this theory is a serial killer, especially those that kill for the excitement of it.
Criminology based off of and later modernized to a more important career. Criminology began in Europe between the late 1700’s and early 1800’s (Sanders, 2014). Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham were theorists on crime and punishment development in the classical school of criminology founders (Sanders, 2014). The classical school of thought believed that crimes were committed through free will (Sanders, 2014). As criminology modernized many revis...
In the United States there are all types of crimes starting with rape, robbery, assault, Burglary and grand larceny. These crimes are all over the country but to understand and reduce these crimes it would take a criminologist to identify and apply theories in order to comprehend crimes committed. There are many theories criminologists’ uses. One theory used is called the concept of rational choice theory.
Choice theory breaks down the process of how a criminal makes choices by understanding there thought, like If they stand a good chance of getting caught and being punished. They fear the consequences of the punishment, the risk of losing respect of their peers, damaging their reputations, they make sure the risk of apprehension ...
Critical perspectives on discipline, social control, and punishment are studied within the field of critical criminology. It assumed that human beings are both determined and determining creatures (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). In the process, they create institutions that they are capable of changing the structure (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). Critical Criminology assumes that society is based on conflicts between competing interests groups. The root of criminology can be traced back to the mid-seventeenth century. It gives homage to Cesare Beccaria, an Italian jurist and author of On Crimes and Punishments, and Jeremy Bentham a conflict criminologist who wrote Theoretical Criminology. Bentham argued that crime is an outcome of political conflicts between
5). The classical school of thought focuses on free will as the guiding force behind why people commit crime. Under this theory human beings are all deemed to be free thinking spirits and a bit hedonistic. In order to study and observe the causes of crime the classical theory suggests that criminologist should follow a path of analytic
The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular
Criminology is the study of criminals and crime, but more importantly, why individuals commit a crime and why they behave differently in certain situations. When this is understood, methods of preventing and controlling crime are discussed and put into practice. There are several different theories explaining why people commit a crime, but the ones that I will be focusing on are the theories in the neoclassical school of criminology: Rational choice theory and the Routine activity theory. The aim of this essay is to attempt to discuss the contribution of the neoclassical school of criminology to crime and crime prevention through the use of explanations and critiques of the different theories.
Early criminologists, of the late 18th century, believed that everyone had the ability to make rational choices. Therefore, their theory was that if a rational