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Criminal: The Neoclassicism Of Rational Choice Theory

557 Words3 Pages

“People who are experiencing a mental health crisis are more likely to encounter police than [receive] medical help… (NCSL, 2016).” There are some people in society that are unaware or denies to seek medical assistance. There is a possibility of an outbreak that cause a person to go berserk and unintentional commits a crime. Exemplifying a positivist of criminology, the scientific view on a crime, where social and psychological are the main factors of development in criminality (Olaghere, 2017). As for classical criminology, the school believes people have a rational mind and a free will when making a choice. Overtime the classical criminology evolved to neoclassicism of rational choice theory. With the new additions of concepts, the essay will analyze …show more content…

With a free will, the perpetrator has a rational mind to make an intelligent choice under the “contextualized by constraints and availability of opportunities (NCSL, 2016).” The new features are, that it questions the degree of the perpetrator’s responsibility (psychological factor including personality and etc.) and their circumstances (social factor). Although the theory reconsider the perpetrators’ situation, it does not reconsider about mental health; to cloud one’s mind to have a rational thought.
About “64% of jail inmates have a mental health problem, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the U.S. Department of Justice (NSCL, 2016).” The criminal justice system needs to recognize that mental health is an immense issue and should readdressed by forming a program to provide medical assistance. Instead of following classical criminology’s form of punishment, specific deterrence. The punishment must be severe in order to overcome the pleasure and benefits from committing the crime. Although in this case, the inmates’ health will remain the same or

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