Situational Crime Prevention - Criminological Theory - Lecture Slides, Slides of Criminology

Download Situational Crime Prevention - Criminological Theory - Lecture Slides and more Slides Criminology in PDF only on Docsity! “Rational Choice” Theories and Situational Crime Prevention Docsity.com “Rational Choice Theory” • Economics (language, theory) – “Expected Utility” = calculation of all risks and rewards – Note: This is much broader than deterrence • Includes risks not associated with criminal justice • Same assumptions as deterrence theory – Human nature = rational, calculating, hedonistic – This is because “economic theory” (supply/demand, rational consumers) has same “classical school” roots Docsity.com Criminal Involvement • Choices to become involved in crime, to continue in crime, and to desist from crime – Each (involvement, continuance, desistence) need separate explanation – Involvement decisions are multistage and multi- factor, extending over long time periods Docsity.com Example of factors that explain initial involvement: Background Factors – temperament, intelligence, cognitive style, sex, class, education, neighborhood, broken home… Previous experience – Direct and vicarious learning, moral attitudes, self- perception, foresight and planning Solutions evaluated – Degree of effort, amount/immediacy of reward, likelihood and severity of punishment, moral costs Docsity.com Criticisms What happened to our “rational” offender guided by “free will?” – In their models, rational thinking and free will are very constrained/limited – Not much different from other theories of crime • Borrow liberally from learning theory, psychology, social control theory… – At what point does their theory cease to be a “rational choice” model and start to become a learning, social control, IQ theory of crime? Docsity.com Evaluating Rational Choice • Empirical Support? – Criminal Involvement • Ethnographic research suggests limited (if any) rational reasoning or weighing of costs/benefits. – Criminal Event • Ethnographic research somewhat supportive, but many crimes suggest limited appraisals. • Parsimony and Scope? • Policy Implication? Docsity.com Routine Activities Theory • Cohen and Felson (1979): “Crime and Everyday Life” • Crime as the Convergence in Time and Space of Three Factors 1. Motivated Offenders (typically ignored) 2. Suitable Targets 3. Lack of Capable Guardianship • Scope: “Direct-Contact Predatory Crimes” – Felson in 1990s extended to white collar crime, drug crime Docsity.com Motivated offenders taken for granted • Assumption is that they are always present – Criticized for this (really a theory of crime?) • Really explains “victimization” or the “criminal event” – Similar to Cornish and Clarke in that respect Docsity.com Evaluating Routine Activities Theory • Empirical Support – Household activity ratio related to crime – Criminal “Hotspots” within high crime areas – Prison Studies (% time outside of cell) – Victimization Studies • Criticism? Confirming common sense. Docsity.com Environmental Criminology and Situational Crime Prevention and • Environmental Criminology – An umbrella term (catch-all) to describe opportunity theories that focus on the criminal event (e.g., routine activity theory) • Situational Crime Prevention – A policy implication of routine activities/RCT (not a specific theory) Docsity.com Policy Implications Deterrence vs. Environmental Crim • In deterrence theory, if the CJS (e.g., threat of arrest/imprisonment) is not effective, the only other option is incapacitation. – This has been the preferred U.S. strategy • Environmental Criminology suggests that we can remove or limit the opportunity to offend – This has been the preferred strategy in the UK – Benefit of this approach over incapacitation?? Docsity.com