Rational Choice Theory

Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender to commit a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors out-weigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision making process makes committing a crime a rational choice. This theory can be used to explain why an offender will decide to commit burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or murder.

It is 9:00am on a warm July morning. John Smith is dropped off near an affluent neighborhood. He creeps down a side street and enters the back yard of a large home. John uses a pry bar he had hidden in his pants to break open the door. Once inside he heads for the upstairs. When he reaches the second floor he finds the door to the master bedroom and enters to find the jewelry he had come for. John takes the watches, bracelets, necklaces, and rings and stuffs them into a small duffle bag. He quickly turns and when he exits the bedroom is confronted by a teenage girl, who he knows to be the daughter of the home owner. John makes a quick decision and hits the girl in the head with the pry bar and she falls to the floor. John now panicky flees the home.

The above scenario can be explained by the rational choice theory. John it turns out is twenty years old and met the homeowner while working at a jewelry store at his local mall. He used the employer computers to gain access to the woman’s personal information finding that she was divor...

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...e: season, neighborhood, age, and economy will allow police departments to target areas for police presence. Overall I feel that no one theory can explain all crime. No one individual is the same and cannot be grouped into one category. Understanding all theories of crime along with insight into victimization will better enable a police department to develop crime prevention strategies.

Works Cited

Findlaw: Assault/Battery. Thomson Reuters, 2011. Web. 7 May. 2011.

Ciccarelli, Saundra, and White, J. Noland. Psychology Second Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc. 2009. Print.

Siegel, Larry J. Criminology: The Core Fourth Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2008. Print.

---. Essentials of Criminal Justice Seventh Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2009. Print.