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Rational Choice Theory in Criminal Justice: From Deterrence to Enlightenment

Explore the evolution of crime theories from medieval practices to Enlightenment ideologies. Understand the principles of deterrence and rational choice, examining the effectiveness of punishment, certainty, and severity. Discover how offenders make rational choices and the implications for policy.

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Rational Choice Theory in Criminal Justice: From Deterrence to Enlightenment

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  1. Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories

  2. Medieval Criminal Justice • Trial by ordeal • Forced confessions • Severe public punishment • Burning (hell on earth) • Mutilation (body subordinate to soul) • “Ritual of a thousand deaths”

  3. A Reform Movement • The Enlightenment • Faith in rationality, social contract theory • Depart from “supernatural” theory • The Classical School of criminology is born • Assumptions about human nature • Rational, autonomous, hedonistic, calculating

  4. A Theory of Deterrence • On Crimes and Punishment, Beccaria (1764) • Punishment protects the social contract • Punishment should fit the crime, no more • Underlying theory • Prevention through deterrence is the primary justification for punishment • Condemned by the Catholic Church

  5. Principles of Deterrence • To deter, punishment should be: • Certain • To increase fear of consequences • Swift • To make association with punishment • Severe enough to outweigh the pleasure of crime • Any more is “tyrannical,” inefficient

  6. Elaborations of Deterrence • Specific v. general • Punishment v. non-punishment • Absolute v. restrictive • Formal v. informal sanctions

  7. Specific v. General Deterrence

  8. Punishment/Non-Punishment Stafford and Warr (1993) • Personal experience with punishment • Personal experience avoiding punishment • Vicarious experience with punishment • Vicarious experience avoiding punishment • Determines the deterrent effect

  9. Absolute v. Restrictive Deterrence • Absolute deterrence • Abstention • Restrictive deterrence • Less frequent • Less severe • Displacement

  10. Empirical Research • There is moderate support for certainty, little to none for severity • Why does certainty seem to work better than severity? What does this tell us about how offenders think?

  11. Formal v. Informal Sanctions • Informal = unofficial punishment • Disapproval from significant others • Feelings of remorse, guilt, shame • Expands the range of negative consequence • Informal sanctions enhance formal sanctions • But not for everyone, why?

  12. In and Out and Back In Favor • Deterrence theory fell out of favor in the 1800s, replaced by positivism • Deterrence reemerged in the late 1960s as a rationale for punishment • Coincided with a renewed emphasis on offender deterrence and retribution within the criminal justice system

  13. Practical Limits of Deterrence • Penalties often learned after arrest • Underestimate risk of being caught • Clearance rates are generally low • Crime displacement may occur • Rational abilities may be impaired • Drugs, alcohol, passion, mental disorder • Some people have little to lose

  14. From Deterrenceto Rational Choice • Deterrence theory focuses on the effect of punishment on criminal choices • Rational choice theory focuses on the effect of opportunity on criminal choices

  15. Rational Choice Theory • Crime benefits the offender • Crime brings pleasure • People’s rationality is bounded • We gather, store, & use information imperfectly • We tend to focus on immediate gains, not long-term costs • Offenders focus on situational opportunities • Criminals are opportunistic

  16. Rational Motivationsfor Crime • To obtain something • To obtain pleasure • To obtain sex • To obtain peer approval • To prove toughness • To escape negative or unwanted situations • To assert dominance or get one’s way in a dispute • To settle a grievance, revenge

  17. Rational Choices? • A man beats his wife during an argument • A father rapes his stepdaughter • A man drives home drunk from a bar

  18. Crimes that are not rational?

  19. Cheating on Exams • How would we control cheating using a rational choice perspective? • Assumptions about cheating • Interventions to prevent cheating

  20. Assessment of Choice Theory • Opportunity rather than punishment • Offenders tend to ignore long-term costs • Situational factors rather than enduring motivational factors • Assume the presence of criminal motivation • Focus on offenders’ assessments of their immediate situations

  21. Implications for Policy • Situational crime prevention • Reduce crime by blocking opportunities • Consistent with the CJ emphasis on responsibility and punishment • All crime is based at least in part on a choice • Attempt to make criminal choices less attractive by reducing opportunities

  22. Is there a place for morality in rational choice theory?

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