Rational Choice Theory in Criminology

Development of Rational Choice Theory

• Rational choice theory posits that individuals engage in criminal behavior after careful thought and planning.
• It assumes people are self-interested and consider personal and situational factors before committing crimes.
• Anyone is a potential criminal if they perceive high rewards and low risks.

Classical Criminology and Early Foundations

• Cesare Beccaria developed classical criminology.
• Free will, fear of punishment; swift, severe, and certain crime is attractive.
• Punishment should deter crime by outweighing its benefits.

Decline of Classical Criminology

• Positivist criminology was popular by the late 19th century.
• It focused on social and personal factors rather than rational choice.
• Crime was a result of environment and upbringing, not free will.
• External influences shaped people's actions instead of conscious decision-making.

Revival of Rational Choice Theory (1960s Onward)

• Criminologists re-embraced classical ideas of criminals.
• Criminals deliberately plan their crimes
• Criminals weigh risks and rewards before acting
• Criminals can be deterred through punishment

Gary Becker's Economic Approach to Crime

• Gary Becker was a Nobel Prize-winning economist who applied economic principles to criminology.
• Criminals engage in a cost-benefit analysis before committing crimes.
• Except for a few mentally ill individuals, crime is a rational decision.
• Crime could be reduced by increasing its costs (punishment) and decreasing potential rewards.

James Q. Wilson's Contributions

• A political scientist who further developed rational choice ideas.
• Criminals are unafraid of breaking the law.
• Criminals enjoy the thrill of crime, have a low stake in conformity, and would avoid crime if punishment were severe enough.

Modern Rational Choice Theory

• A contemporary evolution of classical criminology.
• Focuses on intelligent thought processes and decision-making in crime.
• Crime prevention should rely on deterrence through harsher punishments and strategies that limit opportunities for criminal behavior.

Evaluating the Risks of Crime

• Before committing a crime, a potential offender considers the risk of apprehension, severity of expected punishment, potential benefits of the crime, likelihood of success, and personal need for criminal gain.

Why People Choose Crime

• Crime shows courage and fearlessness, is easy and fun, is rewarding, helps overcome stress and achieve mastery over things, and boosts self-esteem.

Factors Affecting Criminal Decisions

• The reason for committing crime depends on:
  • Personal factors like value, novelty, resale potential, low risk, easy gain, money, retaliation, greed, revenge, lust, jealousy, thrill, and anger.
  • Situational factors like how well the target is protected, efficiency of police, and likely cash yield.
• Reasons criminals may forgo crime depend on:
• High risk of getting caught
• Fear of punishment
• Potential damage to their reputation and social standing
• Weighing risk vs reward
• Age and ability
• Religious awakening

Offense-Specific vs. Offender-Specific Crime

• For offense-specific crime, criminals react selectively to specific aspects of a crime, such as target yield and value, security measures and police patrols, ease of selling stolen goods, presence of witnesses, guard dogs, or security systems, and accessibility and escape routes.
• For offender-specific crime, criminals also assess their personal ability and needs before committing a crime.
• Do they have the necessary skills, weapons, or mindset?
• Do they urgently need money or resources?
• Are there legitimate financial alternatives?
• Do they fear getting caught and punished?
• Are there alternative crimes with lower risks?
• Do they have the physical ability to carry out the crime?

Structuring Criminality

• Parental supervision reduces the likelihood of crime in youth where partying or drinking increases the likelihood of criminal behavior.
• Girls typically have more supervision and socialize in safer places, reducing crime risk, while boys often have more unsupervised freedom, increasing opportunities for antisocial behavior.
• Some people commit crimes for the thrill and excitement, rather than for profit with risky actions, like vandalism or shoplifting, appealing due to the "sneaky thrills" they provide.
• People may turn to crime when they are in financial distress or unable to earn legitimate income where crime is seen as a quicker, more efficient option than working low-wage jobs.
• Experienced criminals commit fewer crimes but make more money per crime with their skill reducing the risk of getting caught.

Structuring Crime

• Criminals choose locations they are familiar with where they can easily monitor for police or threats, such as places like the middle of a block or back alleys.
• Criminals prefer targets they know well, such as homes where they know the residents' routines and often seek valuable or easy-to-sell items like jewelry and electronics.
• Criminals plan their escape routes in advance to avoid capture. Car thieves may switch license plates or use high-speed getaways.

Is Crime Truly Rational?

• Crime is often seen as irrational, but many offenses involve strategic decision-making.
• Rational choice theory suggests individuals commit crimes when the benefits outweigh the risks.
• Street crimes include offenders that assess factors like law enforcement presence, potential financial gain, escape routes, and victim vulnerability.
• Crimes like robbery and burglary are often premeditated rather than impulsive.
• Drug users may seem irrational, but they weigh immediate gratification vs. long-term harm, legal risks and social consequences, and the availability and cost of substances.
• Some users turn to crime (e.g., theft) to sustain their addiction.
• Car thieves often target vehicles based on security features and ease of theft, market demand for stolen parts, and parking locations with low surveillance.
• Some thieves specialize in reselling stolen cars or parts for profit.
• Crime prevention should focus on increasing perceived risks, such as stronger policing and surveillance, stricter legal consequences, and community-based interventions to reduce incentives for crime.
• Burglary often happens 9am-11am and mid-afternoon, avoid Saturdays when people are home, Sunday mornings during church hours, and targets cash businesses.
• Violence, serial Killers target women, the homeless, children, hospital patients, the elderly, and hitchhikers who are usually defenseless.
• Robbers choose targets based on familiarity, assess escape routes, avoid targets in areas with high community surveillance, prefer cash-based businesses, and avoid armed victims who may resist.

Retaliation and Status as a Reason for Crime

• Robbers may target drug dealers or others to send a message, settle scores.
• Violence can be a way to restore status or resolve grievances without legal recourse.
• Sex crimes include victims making decisions engaging with prostitutes.
• Hate crimes can be rational and are triggered by a grievance between groups
• Hate Crimes include a definable target group to blame
• Publicity that amplifies the situation.
• Hate crimes are not just products of disturbed minds but are calculated responses to real or perceived events.
• Men weigh options when engaging with prostitutes.
• Men Share knowledge online about avoiding law enforcement (e.g., spotting undercover police).
• Men choose safe locations for encounters (e.g., alleyways, trusted motels) and take precautions to avoid robbery or assault (e.g., avoiding dangerous motels).

General + Specific Deterrence

• General Deterrence controls crime by increasing the real or perceived threat of criminal punishment through law enforcement agencies (e.g. RBPF), courts, and corrections.
• Law enforcement can include: intel crime, crime prevention strategies, protection of society, arresting individuals, statements, seize warrants, and urban renewals.
• Law enforcement can have fair courts that are swift with no bail, and that yield longer, harsher sentences.
• Corrections ensure sentences are carried out.
• Specific Deterrence is the view that criminal sanctions should be powerful where offenders will never repeat their criminal acts with the death penalty and law enforcement enforcing longer sentences.

Situational Crime Prevention

• A method of crime prevention that seeks to eliminate or reduce specific crimes in particular settings.

• Defensible space refers to the principle that crime can be reduced by modifying the physical environment to reduce criminal opportunities, introduced by Oscar Newman in the early 1970s.

• Well-lit housing projects maximize surveillance.

• Criminals seek out attractive yet vulnerable targets.

• Crime prevention can be achieved by convincing criminals that a particular target is too difficult to attack through target hardening, improving surveillance, and increasing the risk and effort required to commit crimes.

• The CRAVED model of theft helps explain why certain targets are more attractive for theft where items are Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable, and Disposable.

• Operation Command (CLEAR), HOLD,BUILD involves safety and beautification for overgrown properties, derelict vehicles, abandoned homes, and dilapidated buildings.

• Crime prevention efforts focus on reducing opportunities for specific crimes by increasing the effort needed to commit crime through target hardening.

• Improved store security, Pay first policy, sex offender laws, kill switches on cars, locking devices to prevent drunk drivers from starting vehicles, and curfew laws.

• Effectiveness is highlighted in gated communities reducing burglary risk.

• The risk of committing crime can be achieved through Guardians, Handlers, and Managers with CCTV surveillance cameras and Improved street lighting.

• The UK has over 4 million CCTV cameras; major U.S. cities like New York and Chicago have thousands. Areas reduce the rewards of crime, induce guilt and increase shame, reduce provocation, and remove excuses.

• Incapacitation suggests that if more criminals are imprisoned, the crime rate should decrease as criminals "age out" of crime, meaning their criminal careers naturally decline over time, and by incarcerating offenders during their prime crime years, their opportunities to commit crime are reduced.

• The longer criminals are incapacitated, the fewer offenses they can commit in their lifetime leading to a reduction in crime

• Theory effectiveness debates and may not always lead to the expected reduction in crime rates.

• Diffusion happens when efforts to prevent one crime unintentionally prevent another.

• Crime discouragement reduces crime in surrounding areas and populations.

• Crime extinction reduces program positive effects with benefits as criminals adjust to new conditions

• Crime replacement happens when criminals try new offenses they had previously avoided because situational crime prevention programs neutralized their crime of choice.

• Crime Displacement shifts activity to a different location, time, target, method, or type because of crime prevention measures.