Theory Of Criminology: Rational Choice Theory

Jacob Micks

10/14/2013
Criminology CJ2000011

Topic:
Rational Choice Theory

Rational Choice Theory With the exception of a person who has a severe mental disability, every human thinks and weighs out the benefits and the consequences of a crime they are about to commit. People do not get as much credit for committing a crime as they should and this can result in getting a lesser punishment. Rational choice theory states that law violating behavior is the result of carful thought and planning. This theory has been used by many scientists to try and get a better understanding on why people make the choices they make. The main concept of the theory of rational choice was brought up by a man named Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy
The gunman bought mass amounts of ammunition online and in stores. He obtained tear gas, masks, and all necessary items to commit a mass murder. He had his apartment wired to kill any law enforcement or investigators who entered. This was a well-planned murder where he had a specific location, at a specific time, with specific weapons. A lot of people may look at this and think that it was a well thought out murder and some will look at it and actually think that this is because some mental illness and was not entirely his fault. He is in court and is pleading not guilty due to insanity but just recently they uncovered searches from his computers and smartphones. The main focus of his search history was “rational insanity”. He had actually planned out how he was going to get away with this crime after he was caught and in court. Luckily with modern technology investigators were able to find out all of the planning that went into this murder or the case could have ended up like a lot of cases where they plead insanity or something else that would give them a lesser sentence and in a way get away with murder. This is definitely a man who has serious problems but he is in fact a very smart man with a well thought out plan that could play out in his favor. The shooter looking up the words “rational insanity,” shows that he looked at the potential consequences before he
Most people who commit crimes such as bank robbers or any thieves most likely think about the possibilities of them getting caught versus the possibilities of them getting away with the crime. To do this the criminal must look into the crime deep enough to be able to weigh out exactly what they will need to do to complete their task flawlessly. Criminals will look at the crime they are planning as sort of a challenge in a way. If they can complete the task successfully they will get some sort of pleasure out of it. Whether it is stealing a small item from a convenient store or stealing hundreds of thousands from a bank or jewelry store the criminal with have a well thought out plan to make it successful. They usually know exactly what the punishment could be and also how serious. Depending on the criminals living situation this could affect the choice that is