Criminology - Chapter 4 - Rational Choice Theory

Rational choice theory

The view that crime is a function
of a decision-making process
in which the potential offender
weighs the potential costs and
benefits of an illegal act.

Choice theory can be traced
to Beccaria's view that crime
is rational and can be prevented by punishment that is
swift, severe, and certain.

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classical criminology

A theory of crime suggesting that
criminal behavior is a matter of
personal choice, made after the
individual considers its costs and
benefits, and that the criminal
behavior reflects the needs of the
offender.

offense-specific crime

The view that an offender reacts
selectively to the characteristics
of a particular criminal act.

Crime is said to be offense specific because criminals evaluate the characteristics of targets
to determine their suitability.

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offender-specific crime

The view that offenders evaluate
their skills, motives, needs, and
fears before deciding to commit
the criminal act.

Crime is offender-specific
because criminals evaluate
their own skills, motivations,
and needs before committing
a specific crime.

...

Criminal choice involves
such actions as choosing
the place of crime, selecting
targets, and learning criminal
techniques.

...

edgework

The excitement or exhilaration
of successfully executing illegal
activities in dangerous situations.

seductions of crime

The situational inducements or
immediate benefits that draw
offenders into law violations.

situational crime prevention

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

Situational crime prevention
efforts are designed to reduce or
redirect crime by making it more
difficult to profit from illegal acts.

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defensible space

The principle that crime can
be prevented or displaced
by modifying the physical
environment to reduce the
opportunity that individuals have
to commit crime.

crime discouragers

People who serve as guardians
of property or people.

diffusion

An effect that occurs when
efforts to prevent one crime
unintentionally prevent another.

discouragement

An effect that occurs when
crime control efforts targeting
a particular locale help reduce
crime in surrounding areas and
populations.

displacement

An effect that occurs when crime
control efforts simply move, or
redirect, offenders to less heavily
guarded alternative targets.

extinction

An effect that occurs when crime
reduction programs produce a
short-term positive effect, but
benefits dissipate as criminals
adjust to new conditions.

replacement

An effect that occurs when
criminals try new offenses they
had previously avoided because
situational crime prevention
programs neutralized their
crime of choice.

general deterrence

A crime control policy that
depends on the fear of criminal
penalties convincing the potential
law violator that the pains
associated with crime outweigh
its benefits.

General deterrence models are
based on the fear of punishment
that is severe, swift, and certain.

...

specific deterrence

The view that criminal sanctions
should be so powerful that
offenders will never repeat their
criminal acts.

Specific deterrence aims at
reducing crime through the
application of severe punishments. once offenders experience these punishments, they will be unwilling to repeat
their criminal activities.

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incarceration

Confinement in jail or prison.

recidivism

Repetition of criminal behavior.

incapacitation effect

The idea that keeping offenders
in confinement will eliminate the
risk of their committing further
offenses.

Incapacitation strategies are
designed to reduce crime by
taking known criminals out
of circulation, which denies
them the opportunity to commit further offenses. the effectiveness of incapacitation strategies is hotly debated.

...

Choice Theories

Rational choice, general deterrence, specific deterrence, incapacitation