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Rational Choice Theory Strengths And Weaknesses
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While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the
This theory is based on three elements of why the crime occurs: “a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of guardians” (Burkey, T., 2015). A motived offender is an offender that is committed and capable of committing the crime (Burkey, T., 2015) A suitable target “can be an object or person”, the offender may pick someone or something that is vulnerable and has some kind of award/ benefit towards the offender (Burkey, T., 2015). For example, a robber’s suitable target would be someone who has looks to be rich by what a person is wearing and that is probably coming out a bank because that would give the robber a hint that the person just took out money. Lack of capable of guardians is not having an adult who could stop the offender from committing the crime which can also go to suitable target because this can show vulnerability (Tewksbury, R.,
Blood In, Blood Out Rational Choice Theory According to the Twelfth Edition Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies, the rational choice theory states that the decision to commit a crime is formed by a human’s thoughts and emotions. It is a view of crime in which decision-making is taking place and the offender is to deal with the charges and benefits of an illegal act they committed. In the movie “Blood In, Blood Out”, each of the main characters in the movie were involved in many actions that lead them to the rational choice theory.
Within the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.
Just like bank robbers, there is a rational choice to do it. The crimes are from a rational choice. These are made through taking advantage of a criminal opportunity. Similar to how committing a bank robbery, the criminal must have a plan on how to do the crime without getting caught. This must be done as fast as possible without any police chasing after them.
This theory falls under the umbrella of general theories of criminality. It supports the idea that individuals commit crimes as a response to personal strains. This theory fits well into the proposal of a Criminal Justice Education Program as the target population would be juveniles. Juveniles have an inconsistent foundation as they work towards gaining independence and establishing their personal identity.
This theory clearly rules out the effect of inherited or innate factors, and the last is the cognitive theory, which is based on how the perception of an individual is manifested into affecting his or her potential and capability to commit a crime. (Psychological theories of crime) Relating these theories to the case under study, it’s clear that the behaviour can be traced most times to faulty relationships in the family during the first years of
The classical theory of crime says that people make rational choices when they commit crimes. “Individuals have the will and rationality to act according to their own will and desires. Individuals will calculate the rationality of the crime based on the benefits of the crime versus the consequences of the crime” (Robinson, 2014). This theory discuses that how people think about the negative and positive outcomes before they commit crime. Even though they realize it is not right, they still continue to commit illegal offence because they believe that what they are doing is for the greater
The first crime theory I will discuss is Differential Association theory. According to Edwin H. Sutherland, differential association is a learning theory that explains criminal behavior
Criminology is the wider area that is used to evaluate the context of crime. The scientific study of criminals and crime is used for evaluating the basis and reasons of crime done by people. It makes use of different theories and school of thought in order to analyse the reasons behind criminal activities. The main purpose of this paper is to consider one criminology theory or school of thought. The criminology theory that is used for analysing the requirements of this paper is rational choice theory.
Situational crime prevention (SCP) and rational choice theory (RCT), together, provide an insightful explanation as to why people commit crimes and what can be done to deter them. Much of the work done in RCT and SCP was founded by Derek Cornish and Ronald V. Clarke, who wanted to understand the decision-making process of potential offenders and focus on the spatial and situational factors that make such crime possible (Farrell and Hodgkinson, 2015). This paper aims to explore SCP and its relationship to RCT, as well as analyze the works of Keith Hayward and Graham Farrell in their discussion of these ideas. This paper has four objectives: first, the paper will discuss SCP and RCT and explain the link between the two concepts. Second, this paper will examine Hayward 's discussion of RCT, SCP, and cultural criminology.
Crime causation is the study of the reasons why individuals commit crimes and covers four main theories. The strain theory suggests individuals commit crimes to relieve psychological strain. The social learning theory that suggests individuals commit crimes as a product of their environment. Where control theory suggests that individuals chose an easier alternative to what their environment provides. Lastly, is the anomie theory, a social context where an individual commits a crime in response to alienation from society.
The crimes included are burglary, white collar crime, and murder. Rational Choice Theory Do people think before they commit a crime? This question is answered by the rational choice theory that was proposed to us first as the classical theory
Theories Some of the theories that can explain why are there prostitutes lingering around my neighborhood are rational choice, social learning, and Strain theory. Rational choice theory of criminology, says that people make logical choices about under what circumstances to commit crime. For example, Mike’s girlfriend had to meet with the prison guard who accepted a blow job and thirty dollars in exchange for smuggling in three pills of oxycodone to Mike, which he took to ease the pain from a severe beating received in the yard. “Social learning theory has had a distinct and lasting impact on the field of criminology. This framework evolved from the Edwin Sutherland’s Differential Association in the 1940s, which argued that crime is learned through interactions with intimate
Deterrence Theory A special case of the rational choice theory is the deterrence theory, which emphasizes the costs of legal sanctions (Liska & Messner, 1999). While the rational choice theory was initially applied to the field of economics, and considered all costs, the deterrence theory was initially applied to the field of law and only considered legal costs. Accordingly, as a deterrent for committing crime, increasing the severity of punishment, increasing the certainty of punishment, and increasing the celerity of punishment will all increase the legal costs for committing crime and, consequently, decrease the benefits versus cost ratio. Furthermore, there is a specific deterrence and a general deterrence (Barkan, 2006).