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Results for opportunity theory

2 results found

Author: Chiba, Saori

Title: Behavioral Economics of Crime Rates and Punishment Levels

Summary: Empirical studies have shown, paradoxically, that increasing the probability of apprehension can correlate with an increase in the total number of criminal actions. To examine this phenomenon, this paper develops a theory of "personal rules" based on the tradeoff between one's self-image of criminal productivity and the temptation - salience of the present - of taking the easy way out by committing a crime. This theory analyzes transformation of lapses into precedents that undermine future self-restraint. The foundation for this transformation is imperfect recall of one's own criminal productivity within certain defined parameters, which leads people to draw inaccurate inferences from their past actions. Rationalization may lead to overestimation of the expected utility of committing a crime when the opportunity presents itself.

Details: Universita Ca' Foscari Venezia - Department of Management, 2014. 47p.

Source: Internet Resource: Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia Working Paper No. 2014/21 : Accessed November 12, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2511322

Year: 2014

Country: International

URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2511322

Shelf Number: 134039

Keywords:
Causes of Crime
Decision-Making
Economics of Crime
Opportunity Theory

Author: Great Britain. Home Office.

Title: Opportunity/security as a driver of crime. A Discussion paper

Summary: The opportunity/security hypothesis asserts that crime will flourish in conditions when it is easy to commit, and diminish when it is more difficult. Supporters of this view tend towards a belief that propensity to offend changes little over time, i.e. when temptation exists, human nature will always succumb to it. For them then, tackling crime is mostly about removing opportunity, either by altering routine activities to keep people away from crime-prone environments or by beefing up security. There is very strong evidence that acquisitive crime trends are affected in this way. Data repeatedly shows that as successive product innovations come to market - from car stereos in the 1980s to smartphones recently - thefts are likely to rise with ownership, as the opportunity (number of potential victims) increases. Data also shows that many security devices have been successful in helping to reverse these trends. Car immobilisers clearly helped drive down thefts of vehicles and more recently the IOS-7 I-phone operating system appears to have had a similar effect on phone thefts. Innovations in the way transactions are undertaken - credit cards and internet banking - share similar offence profiles. For these reasons we think opportunity/security should be considered one of the main drivers of crime. It offers perhaps the best explanation for trends in thefts of individual items and the growth in online activity means opportunities are likely to both change and increase in the near future - which makes the development of online security a key priority. The evidence seems less clear, though, that opportunity/security changes have been responsible for the rise and fall in crime at the aggregate level. The hypothesis is largely silent on why violence has fallen alongside theft. And for acquisitive crime, the case that better security caused the crime drop rests on the largely untested assumption that car immobilisers also prevented or deterred thieves from committing other types of theft. Data suggest the opposite is equally likely - that as one thing becomes harder to steal, thieves switch to something else. So, because all types of theft fell markedly at the same time in the mid-1990s it seems likely that a change in offender propensity for crime is more likely to provide the main explanation.

Details: London: Home Office, 2015. 10p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398865/Opportunity_security_final_v2.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398865/Opportunity_security_final_v2.pdf

Shelf Number: 134997

Keywords:
Acquisitive Crime
Crime Prevention (U.K.)
Opportunity Theory