nurullah alkan-rational choice theory

7/31/2019 NURULLAH ALKAN-Rational Choice Theory

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RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

NURULLAH ALKAN

Psychology of Crime


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1. Offenders seekto benefitthemselves by

criminal behaviours: 2. Doing so

involves makingdecisions and

choices, howeverrudimentary thesemight be.


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3. The decision-making process isconstrained by the time available (manycriminal opportunities have a limited life-span),

by the availability of relevant information(frequently this will be incomplete) and by the(related, presumably, to verbal IQ) offenders

own cognitive abilities . It follows thatrationality will be limited, rather than complete.


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4. Both the decision-making process and thefactors taken into account by offenders varygreatly at different stages of decision-making

and between different crimes (andpresumably also between different offenderswithin crimes; there are marked differences

in success-rates, with planning ahead beinga key feature of the more successfuloffenders).


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Cornish and Clarke (1987) argue the need tobe:

(a) crime-specific when analysing criminal

choices

(b) to treat decisions as relating to varyingstages of the involvement of an offender in a

particular crime.


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Thus, theydistinguish between:

initial involvement,

the event, continuation,

desistance.


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The following is a list of choice structuringproperties for crimes involving cash (i.e., moneyrather than goods, from bank robbery to computerfraud, Cornish and Clarke 1987). 1. Availability (number of targets, accessibility)

2. Awareness of method (i.e., technical knowhow).

3. Likely cash yield per crime.

4. Expertise needed.5. Planning necessary.


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6. Resources required.

7. Solo versus assistance required.

8. Time required to commit.

9. Cool nerves required. - 10.Risk of apprehension.

11.Severity of punishment (if caught).

12.Instrumental violence required.

13.Confrontation with victim.

14.Identifiable victim.


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15. Socialcachet [in thecriminal world](safebreakingversus mugging).

16. Fencingaccessories(getting rid of anygoods stolen).

17. Moralevaluation.


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Their work is supplemented and illustrated by areport by Walsh (1980), based on interviews with45 men in British prisons who had been convicted

of burglary. Their ideal target was a business firm rather than

a private house (more to be stolen) and, while halfused information, the other half burgled on

impulse (presumably, the latter were more likely tobe caught and hence were more available forinterview).


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There was much fear concerning being interruptedduring a burglary, with the consequent possibilityof violence and, hence, of a more severesentence if arrested.

They found it easier to justify to themselves abusiness than a household target (particularly ifthe latter were ordinary), adding to theirpreference for the former.

They saw themselves as desisting with increasingage (the risks of capture increased, sentencesstiffened and the risk/return balance generally lessfavourable).


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nurullah alkan-rational choice theory

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