CHOICE THEORY AND RATIONAL CHOICE Criminal Activit

CHOICE THEORY AND RATIONAL CHOICE Criminal Activities
The choice theory is said to be the reason for criminal activity. This theory is used to control the choice that a person has to commit a crime or not.  It is important for society to understand the theory and how it affects the choice that might make a person take part in a crime and how we might as a society understand why they pick to commit a crime. Choice theory has come from the works of early theorists, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. The Choice Theory obviously affects how society would deter criminal acts. 
 The choice theory of criminology is also known as the classical theory. The basic thoughts of this theory are that people in society choose their own behavior, which includes criminal behavior. It can be said that people choose the decisions that they make by looking at the consequences that may follow if the choice is a bad one. Which one can look at the more serious the crime the harsher the punishment? According to choice theory, punishment should have four main objectives. The first and the most important are to prevent all criminal offenses. The second objective is that when it cannot prevent a crime, it should persuade the offender to commit a lesser crime. The third objective is to ensure that a criminal uses no more force than is necessary. And the fourth objective is to prevent crime as cheaply as possible (Criminal Justice Today. edu)
 In the 1970s, James Wilson, who was a political scientist, said that decisions should be made to reduce criminal from committing crimes by discouraging them with punishment of imprisonment. 
 Rational choice is the choice to commit a certain kind of crime or illegal activity based on available information. It is also a matter of personal decision. Rational choice theory has an out look of crime which is both offense- and offender specific. Offender-specific crimes go with the fact that criminals are not simply aggravated people who engage in random antisocial behavior for one reason or another. Instead they consider whether they get away with it by the skills that they think they have. Choice theorists think that crime is an event and that criminal behavior is a personality trait. Offenders don’t look at the consequences until to late and not maybe even then. When compared to other people, they have less self-control and appear unaffected by fear of social controls. They are typically under stress or facing some serious personal problems or conditions that get them to do the wrong thing (Criminology: Choice Theory). 

            Choice theorists have also studied that the decision to commit a crime, regardless of what it is, is planned by the choice of where they are at the moment. The choice will also depend on the means of opportunity. Offenders often choose the place of the crime and thinking of the possibility for being caught. They also choose their targets considering the nature of the crime. For example, offenders decide to choose rich neighborhoods because of the value of the property they can get. Offenders think that if they are good at the act they are least likely to get caught. 
Routine activities related to crime can also be explained. These crimes rates are committed by those that are less fortunate.  People like low-income, drug addicts or people who are unemployed. Most offenders commit crimes because feel that there is no other way for them to get what they need or want due to their circumstances, living in a low-income area. Maybe if they had a better way of life then they would not be so quick to commit these crimes. Rational choice theory involves both the making of a criminal and their out look on crime. 
 The society has determined what the norm should be as far as criminal acts. The two common norms in the criminal justice system are consensus model and conflict model. Consensus model is a criminal justice model in which the majority of people in a society share the same values and beliefs. Criminal acts are those acts that go against the values and beliefs and are considered damaging to society. The consensus model says that the majority of people will agree on which activities should be outlawed and considered as crimes. The assumption of this model is that a group of people can have similar morals. The consensus model assumes that when people group together to form a society; its members will obviously come to a basic agreement with regard to shared norms and values. Those individuals whose actions go against norms and values are considered as a threat to the society as a whole and need to be punished. The society passes laws to control and prevent bad behavior, in a way setting the boundaries for acceptable behavior within the group (Criminal Justice in Action by Larry K. Gaines, Roger LeRoy Miller). 
 The conflict model is a criminal justice model in which the content of criminal law is determined by the groups that hold economic, political, and social power in a community. This argues that in a diverse society, the dominant groups exercise power by codifying their value systems into criminal laws. Those who reject the consensus model do soon the ground that moral attitudes are not absolute. Different parts of society will always have different value and shared norms.  According to the conflict model these different groups which are separated by social class, income, age, and race are engaged in a never ending struggle with each other for control of society. Accordingly, what is criminal activity is determined by whichever group happens to be holding power at any given time. Because certain groups do not have access to political power, their interests are not served by the criminal justice system.  So goes on the life of the low-income and less privileged.
 
 
 








Reference
Choice Theory and Trait Theory on Crime Control. Retrieved on January 6, 2010 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/
Choice Theories in Criminology. Retrieved on January 6, 2010 from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/
Criminology: Choice Theory Retrieved on January 6, 2010 from
http://everything2.com/
Criminal Justice in Action by Larry K. Gaines, Roger LeRoy Miller. Retrieved on January 6, 2010 from http://books.google.co.in/books
Criminal justice today Retrieved on January 6, 2010 from http://instruct.westvalley.edu/