SOC 4410 Criminology : Classical and Neoclassical Perspectives

Rational Choice Theory (RCT)

potential offenders choose whether to commit crime after carefully calculating the possible rewards and risks.

event decisions

decisions to commit a particular crime at a particular time and in a particular place

involvement decisions

decisions to commit crime in the first place

Ronald V. Clarke and Derek B. Cornish

Who focused on criminals’ decision making and the factors affecting the opportunity to commit crime

deterrence theory

assumes potential and actual legal punishment can deter crime

Absolute deterrence

the effect of having some legal punishment (arrest, incarceration, and so forth) versus the effect of having no legal punishment.

marginal deterrence

refers to the effect of increasing the severity, certainty, and/or swiftness of legal punishment

General deterrence

occurs when the punishment of one person discourages other people from committing similar crimes.

specific deterrence

occurs when punishment discourages the punished individual from offending again.

objective deterrence

impact of actual legal punishment

subjective deterrence

the impact of peoples perceptions of the certainty, severity, and/or swiftness of legal punishment

Instrumental offenses

Offenses committed for material gain w/some degree of planning.

Expressive offenses

Offenses committed for emotional reasons w/little to no planning.

certainty of punishment

likelihood of being arrested

severity of punishment

Whether or not someone is incarcerated and for how long

Situational crime prevention

Crime prevention strategy involving efforts in specific locations to “reduce exposure to motivated offenders, decrease target suitability, and increase capable guardianship”.

Cesare Beccaria

In On Crimes and Punishments, published in 1764, he criticized secret trials, torture, inconsistent laws, and excessively harsh punishments.

Cesare Becarria argues:

• Laws should be written clearly and applied consistently.

• Punishment should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offense.

• People should receive due process.

• Punishment should prevent crime rather than seek revenge.

• The certainty and swiftness of punishment are more important than extreme severity.

He also opposed arbitrary punishment because it gave authorities too much power and failed to deter crime fairly or effectively.

Jeremy Bentham

• expanded classical ideas through principle of utility

• argued laws and policies should produce greatest good for greatest number of ppl

• described human decision making as a form of calculation

Social contract theory

People surrender some personal freedom and agree to follow laws in exchange for protection and social order. Laws and punishments should protect the public while respecting individual rights. When punishment becomes arbitrary, discriminatory, or unnecessarily cruel, it violates the principles underlying this contract.

Certainty

How likely is it that the person will be caught and punished?

Celerity

How quickly does the punishment follow the offense?

Severity

How harsh is the punishment?

t

Certainty of punishment has stronger deterrent than severity (t/f)

Neoclassical criminology

retains the classical emphasis on choice but recognizes that decision-making is limited by individual circumstances and social conditions.

factors that influence a decision

• The perceived payoff

• The perceived likelihood of being caught

• The effort required

• The availability of an opportunity

• The presence of witnesses or security

• Previous experiences with crime and punishment

Situational crime prevention

seeks to reduce opportunities for crime by changing immediate environments.

Strats for situational crime prevention

• Improving lighting

• Installing locks or surveillance

• Controlling access to buildings

• Increasing the visibility of property identification

• Training employees to recognize fraud

• Making stolen goods more difficult to use or resell

crime displacement

The idea that crime prevention efforts in one location may cause it to move to another place, time, target, or method.