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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for rational choice theory
8 results foundAuthor: Victoria. Sentencing Advisory Council Title: Does Imprisonment Deter? A Review of the Evidence Summary: Deterrence can be described as the prevention of crime through the fear of a threatened – or the experience of an actual – criminal sanction. General deterrence is aimed at reducing crime by directing the threat of that sanction at all potential offenders. Specific deterrence is aimed at reducing crime by applying a criminal sanction to a specific offender, in order to dissuade him or her from reoffending. Deterrence is only one of the purposes of sentencing in Victoria, determined by section 5(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic). The other purposes are: punishment, denunciation, rehabilitation and community protection (incapacitation). The scope of this paper is limited to examining the sentencing purpose of deterrence only – it does not present an analysis of the evidence of imprisonment’s effectiveness in regard to other sentencing purposes. There is an overlap in some studies when measuring deterrence and incapacitation; however, the paper does not draw conclusions on the effectiveness of imprisonment as a means of reducing crime through incapacitation. Deterrence theory is based upon the classical economic theory of rational choice, which assumes that people weigh up the costs and benefits of a particular course of action whenever they make a decision. Deterrence theory relies on the assumption that offenders have knowledge of the threat of a criminal sanction and then make a rational choice whether or not to offend based upon consideration of that knowledge. Rational choice theory, however, does not adequately account for a large number of offenders who may be considered ‘irrational’. Examples of such irrationality can vary in severity – there are those who are not criminally responsible due to mental impairment, those who are drug affected or intoxicated and those who simply act in a way that is contrary to their own best interests. Research shows that the majority of offenders entering the Victorian criminal justice system have a history of substance use that is directly related to their offending. That people are not perfectly rational and do not always make decisions that are in their own best interests is supported by studies in behavioural economics. Behavioural economic theory proposes that individuals make decisions on the basis of mperfect knowledge by employing ‘rules of thumb’, rather than strict logic, and are subject to limits on their willpower. People are also subject to a great number of patterns of deviation in judgment that occur in particular situations (known as ‘cognitive biases’), which influence decision-making in predictable – but often irrational – ways. The evidence from empirical studies of deterrence suggests that the threat of imprisonment generates a small general deterrent effect. However, the research also indicates that increases in the severity of penalties, such as increasing the length of terms of imprisonment, do not produce a corresponding increase in deterrence. It has been suggested that harsher penalties do not deter because many crimes are committed in circumstances where it is difficult to identify when, or if, offenders have considered the consequences of their criminal behaviour. In addition, otherwise rational individuals are more strongly influenced by the perceived immediate benefits of committing crime and individuals ‘discount’ the cost of future penalties. A consistent finding in deterrence research is that increases in the certainty of apprehension and punishment demonstrate a significant deterrent effect. Perceptions about the certainty of apprehension, for example, may counter the ‘present bias’ and reinforce the potential cost of committing crime. This result is qualified by the need for further research that separates deterrable from non-deterrable populations. Research into specific deterrence shows that imprisonment has, at best, no effect on the rate of reoffending and often results in a greater rate of recidivism. Possible explanations for this include that: prison is a learning environment for crime, prison reinforces criminal identity and may diminish or sever social ties that encourage lawful behaviour and imprisonment is not the appropriate response to many offenders who require treatment for the underlying causes of their criminality (such as drug, alcohol and mental health issues). Harsh prison conditions do not generate a greater deterrent effect, and the evidence shows that such conditions may lead to more violent reoffending. The empirical evidence on the effectiveness of imprisonment as a deterrent to crime suggests that the purposes of sentencing should be considered independently – according to their own merits – and that caution should be exercised if imprisonment is to be justified as a means of deterring all crimes and all kinds of offenders. Details: Melbourne: Sentencing Advisory Council, 2011. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Sentencing Matters: Accessed July 5, 2011 at: http://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/sites/sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/files/does_imprisonment_deter_a_review_of_the_evidence.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/sites/sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/files/does_imprisonment_deter_a_review_of_the_evidence.pdf Shelf Number: 121964 Keywords: DeterrenceDrug Abuse and CrimeImprisonmentPunishmentRational Choice TheorySentencing (Australia)Substance Abuse |
Author: Savello, Caroline Title: Offenders under Watch: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Camera Surveillance and Criminal Behavior Summary: Does camera surveillance deter crime? A decade of empirical and theoretical exploration has failed to reach a consensus on the effect of camera surveillance on crime rates. Rational Choice Theory predicts that offenders under surveillance will choose not to commit a crime given the heightened riskiness associated with breaking the law, causing a localized decline in crime. I expand this theoretical framework through a game-theoretic interaction between police and offenders. Following surveillance implementation, police will reallocate away from the surveilled block, decreasing the equilibrium level of a crime in a fashion that does not manifest as a local treatment effect. The empirical analysis of this paper, using quasi-experimental matching methodologies, confirms that there is no local treatment effect of surveillance. These findings call for future research on general equilibrium effects in criminology as well as for randomized evaluations. Details: New Haven, CT: Department of Political Science, Yale University, 2009. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Senior Essay: Accessed September 3, 2011 at: http://www.yale.edu/polisci/undergrad/docs/Savello_Caroline.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.yale.edu/polisci/undergrad/docs/Savello_Caroline.pdf Shelf Number: 122627 Keywords: Camera SurveillancePrisonersPrisonsRational Choice Theory |
Author: Sahoo, Smita Title: Exploring "Transparent Security": A Case Study of the Alachua County Courthouse Entrance Lobby in Gainesville, Florida Summary: This study explores the how courthouse lobby design affects end users’ behavior, perception and cognitive judgments about personal security, as well as their impressions about the effectiveness of the lobby’s security systems. This study’s hypothesis contends that transparent security can actually make users feel less secure and less safe than conventional, or “visible,” security measures such as physical barriers, visible cameras [CCTVs], or security guards. It is based on two crimerelated theories— Routine Activity and Rational Choice —which tell us that when low risk of detection or apprehension accompanies a suitable crime target, offenders are more likely to commit a crime. But does transparent security also affect the perceptions of legitimate users? This study aims to answer that question by examining how legitimate users perceive personal safety and security within environments that employ transparent security strategies. An additional aim was to assess how well the courthouse designers’ intentions—that is, the creation of a lobby that is both secure and friendly—were relayed to the public. The study was conducted in three parts—first, determining the designers’ intentions in planning the courthouse lobby, second, conducting a pre-study that analyzed the reality of the courthouse lobby design, and finally, surveying 100 lobby users to assess user perceptions and cognitive judgments about built environments that employ transparent security strategies. After analyzing the study’s data with a series of the paired sample t-tests, results support the study’s hypothesis that areas with invisible security (transparent security) can actually make users feel less secure and less safe than areas with visible security. Henceforth, we are likely to believe that the original design intent of creating a lobby that is both secure and friendly was not entirely achieved. While most users perceived the space as open and friendly, several areas were seen as unsecured. This pilot study filled a knowledge gap by providing evidence about how transparent security strategies affect end users’ cognitive judgments, and also contributed to the body of crime prevention literature as a whole. Details: Gainesville, FL: University of Florida, 2006. 144p. Source: Master's Thesis. Internet Resource: Accessed on January 23, 2012 at http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0013391/sahoo_s.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0013391/sahoo_s.pdf Shelf Number: 123744 Keywords: Crime PreventionDesign Against CrimeRational Choice TheoryRoutine Activities |
Author: McCormick, Joel G. Title: National Evaluation of Crime Prevention Strategies in Urban Parks: Using Rational Choice Theory to Understand Decisions of Park Directors and Professors Summary: Crime and fear of crime is increasing in recreational settings Chavez, Tynon, & Knap, 2004, Manning et al., 2001； Pendleton, 2000； Shore, 1994). However, research on the effectiveness of crime prevention programs in urban parks, rural parks, or national forest/park lands is scarce. This dissertation utilized a three paper format to gain a more complete understanding of how Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design CPTED) principles observation, access control, territoriality and maintenance) are taught and applied in urban parks. Paper one evaluates crime prevention strategies currently being employed by public park managers in the United States. Paper two applies a combination of descriptive statistics and qualitative methods to investigate Rational Choice Theory as a decision making tool for implementing CPTED) strategies to reduce crime and fear of crime in urban parks. The third paper examines whether and how CPTED is being taught at the college level. This paper also uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate college professors decisions to teach CPTED using a Rational Choice framework. In papers one and two, a web based survey link was e-mailed to the directors of municipal recreation and park agencies in the 250 largest cities in the United States. A total of 129 agencies responded 52%). In paper three, a different web based survey link was e-mailed to 100 college professors across the United States. A total of 72 professors responded. The results indicate that 45% of park directors in the United States have received training in crime prevention strategies. A belief that the occurrence of crime was not a problem in parks was reported by 66% of park directors. However, when presented with the statement, “reducing fear of crime in the park that I manage is a priority” 55% of park directors agreed. Over two-thirds of the professors agreed that crime in parks was a problem； even more agreed that fear of crime in parks was a problem, but only one-third stated that they would make it a priority to do something about it. Only 24% of professors in this study included CPTED strategies in their classes. The main reason given for not including these strategies was “lack of knowledge” of CPTED. There appears to be a need to bring awareness about fear of crime and strategies to the forefront of the field. Park directors should increase their efforts to reduce crime opportunities in their parks and most academicians need to increase their awareness and teaching of CPTED strategies to address problems that have real world applications. Further research in park safety for visitors is needed. Details: Florida: University of Florida, 2011. 125p. Source: Dissertation: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2012 at http://www.socscience.com/social-sciences/17825.html Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.socscience.com/social-sciences/17825.html Shelf Number: 126073 Keywords: Crime PreventionEvaluative StudiesParks, UrbanRational Choice Theory |
Author: Ahokas, Juha Title: Assuring Supply Chain Continuity in Industrial Supply Chains and Complying with Authorised Economical Operator AEO Europe. Final Version Summary: Secure and reliable supply chains and networks enable companies to utilize global markets and resources. Outsourcing and globalization have enabled enterprises to extent their operations to new areas and benefit from economies of scale. Global logistic chains have turned out to be effective platform for the delivery of materials, semi-products and goods between the different economic areas and markets. The development has been beneficial to international companies and economic welfare has increased in several countries. On the other side, dynamic and complex supply chains enable opportunities for criminal action. They create platform for terrorism, crime and illegal competition. Some transnational and poly-crime oriented organized crime groups are aiming at controlling the whole production and distribution processes of entire criminal markets, optimizing profits and cutting out local and minor competitors, on a very rational way. To reach their goal they exploit transportation and financial sector, hire illicit labour to run and manage the supply chain, engage in money laundry, identity frauds and document forgery. International supply chains have turned out to be vulnerable for any crime actions and crime concerns have increased in companies and governments. Especially organized crime and terrorism pose threats to security and safety, to public health, to the environment or to consumers. Traditionally different companies and authorities have concentrated on securing their own operations and sphere of responsibilities. However, supply chain crimes are intertwined in supply chain operations, which transmit forward and reverse goods, services, cash and information. Relying only on inspections or border controls has proven to be always costly leaving doubts concerning the adequate inspection rate. Enterprises have very limited possibilities to self-acquire information related to the backgrounds of their business partners and prospect employees. Generally, crime is recognized to devastate social structures and fair competition. Additionally, private and political interest have emphasized crime preventive approach instead of post-crime measures, thus different kind of customs-government-trade partnerships are endorsed with mutual interest. The terrorist attacks in 2001 formed culmination point to concerns and approaches how to deal with terrorism and crime in supply chains. Since April 2002 several voluntary supply chain security programs and regulations have been established in global trade. The aim of the programs is simply to increase security in international supply chains. The companies fulfilling the security and safety criteria are considered to be secure and safe partners in the supply chain. The reliable traders respecting high standard security criteria benefit from trade facilitation measures: reduced data set for summary declarations, fewer physical and document-based controls, and priority treatment if selected for control. Supply chain security programs can be regarded as good international policy and practices when aiming at better secure supply chains against an intended posed crime act (theft, pilferage, money laundry, currency counterfeiting, industrial espionage, commodity counterfeiting, documents counterfeiting, malicious damage etc.). Additionally, implementation of programs have enabled several companies to gain collateral benefits, including better visibility to the supply chain, swifter response in case of any type of disruptions and lower insurance premiums. However, between security measures and benefits stands a black box, which makes unclear how security programs should be managed to maximize benefits. This publication aims at revealing the inner-side of the black-box. The guide presents and applies practices and procedures, which are approved in a sister discipline that is criminology. Rational choice and situational crime prevention are well-known approaches, which bring criminology down to earth in daily practices and decisions. Rational choice approach takes into consideration a variation and composition of potential crime offenders‘ motivations and capabilities to commit crimes. It supports security efforts and decisions concerning the strategic supply chain and operational design. Situational crime prevention approach provides tools to reduce the opportunities to commit crime and increase the risk of detection if deterrence fails. It focuses on crime opportunities in daily operations and resembles total quality management approach, which is well-known, proved and tried in supply chain and operational management. At last, situational crime prevention approach and total quality management approach are combined in new conceptual model for crime prevention in supply chains. AEO-programs are not self-explaining and self-executing programs. Quite the contrary, they just build a framework, where the compliance with requirements can be attained in several ways. We introduce an implementation model, which is based on teacher-learning cycle aiming at the most cost-efficient implementation in different companies and business units in various cultural conditions. Additionally, it supports government-private partnerships. The model is based on continuous improvement cycle. This guide has 10 chapters with following aims: Chapter 1 elucidates the background of supply chain security programs by presenting World Customs Organization‘s SAFE-program. Chapter 2 works as an incentive to start implementing AEO-supply chain security program. It lists potential benefits, which can be used as financial targets in implementation process. The list of benefits is based on comprehensive literature study. Chapter 3 describes how security issues are included in daily operations. Crime prevention and operational management practices are programmed in same conceptual framework. Chapter 4 elucidates AEO-requirements and appropriate security measures based on available security standards. Chapter 5 suggest methods allocate security resources in an efficient manner. Besides traditional risk assessment approach we emphasize inner-organizational co-operation and efficient communication when tracing crime related problems. Chapter 6 presents an implementation model based on continuous improvement and teaching-learning cycle. Chapter 7 presents customs AEO -audit approach. We give advises how the process could be conducted in an efficient way. Chapter 8 suggest an activity based cost management model, which makes security cost more transparent and traceable. Chapter 9 gives a short description concerning supply chain security technologies. Chapter 10 presents a short summary. Details: Helsinki: Aalto University, School of Science and Technology, BIT Research Centre, 2012. 103p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2012 at: http://legacy-tuta.hut.fi/logistics/publications/Assuring_SC_Continuity.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://legacy-tuta.hut.fi/logistics/publications/Assuring_SC_Continuity.pdf Shelf Number: 126764 Keywords: Cargo SecurityCriminal NetworksNational SecurityPorts-of-Entry, SecurityRational Choice TheorySituational Crime PreventionSupply ChainsTerrorism |
Author: Chmura, Thorsten Title: Selfishness As a Potential Cause of Crime. A Prison Experiment Summary: For a rational choice theorist, the absence of crime is more difficult to explain than its presence. Arguably, the expected value of criminal sanctions, i.e. the product of severity times certainty, is often below the expected benefit. We rely on a standard theory from behavioral economics, inequity aversion, to offer an explanation. This theory could also explain how imperfect criminal sanctions deter crime. The critical component of the theory is aversion against outperforming others. To test this theory, we exploit that it posits inequity aversion to be a personality trait. We can therefore test it in a very simple standard game. Inequity averse individuals give a fraction of their endowment to another anonymous, unendowed participant. We have prisoners play this game, and compare results to findings from a meta-study of more than 100 dictator games with non-prisoners. Surprisingly, results do not differ, not even if we only compare with other dictator games among close-knit groups. To exclude social proximity as an explanation, we retest prisoners on a second dictator game where the recipient is a charity. Prisoners give more, not less. Details: Bonn, Germany: Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, 2013. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Preprints of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods Bonn 2013/5: Accessed April 6, 2013 at: http://www.coll.mpg.de/pdf_dat/2013_05online.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Germany URL: http://www.coll.mpg.de/pdf_dat/2013_05online.pdf Shelf Number: 128314 Keywords: Criminal SanctionsMoral BeliefsPunishmentRational Choice TheorySelfishnessSentencingSeverity of Punishment |
Author: De Senna Fernandes, Linda Micaela Monteiro Title: Residential Burglary in Macao: A Rational Choice Analysis Summary: This thesis is based on an evaluation of 1,060 cases of residential burglary in Macao in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. Using official data sources supplemented by interviews, self-reported measures and on-site observations, the analyses are aimed to see if the rational choice perspective can be used to explain the situation of residential burglary in Macao, thereby acquiring more background information concerning such criminal act. Such study makes use of the distribution pattern of hotspots for residential burglary, the time of the offence, the characteristics of the victims particularly their lifestyles and the characteristics of the dwellings within the neighbourhoods that are prone to such criminal act. Research findings reveal that the rational choice perspective provides an analytical tool to understanding certain aspects of residential burglary in Macao. The relevance of this perspective comes into play when burglars in Macao appear to make rational choice when selecting their offence locations as well as targets. For instance, burglars in Macao tend to choose i) neighbourhoods that are closer to their home base; ii) buildings that are comparatively vulnerable and within reach; iii) buildings that are near to ground-level stores that facilitate their target selection processes; iv) dwellings that are left unoccupied and are less visible to neighbours and passers by and v) time period that secures the absence of capable guardians (such as 12:01 - 18:00) if not the vulnerability of them (03:01 - 06:00). Whatever the degree of rationality, however, research findings also reveal that the rational choice perspective is limited to the extent that it cannot explain certain features in Macao. For instance, the perspective fails to explain why it is not necessary, in the situation of Macao, to ensure the presence of suitable targets existing all at once, why higher population density, higher neighbourhood's average income, higher transient population and higher individual's confinement to their routine daily activities are not associated with higher burglary rate in certain neighbourhoods. Indeed, the limitations of the rational choice perspective is owed, to a large extent, to the fact that the perspective is derived from Western studies and that Macao has its own unique geographical settings as well as cultural background that are seen to play a vital role in the determination of such distinctive pattern of residential burglary. Hence, although this research serves to flesh out the use of the rational choice perspective in assessing the validity of the choice criteria for residential burglary, it implores that other theoretical perspectives like social disorganisation theory, the routine activity and situational opportunity theories be used should the rational choice perspective be taken further. In addition, the discrepancy thus put forward suggests that crime prevention strategies should be divided into location-focused, dwelling-focused, victim-focused and offender-focused interventions in order to improve the current measures against residential burglary in Macao. Details: Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, 2007. 311p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 11, 2013. at: http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/52680 Year: 2007 Country: China URL: http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/52680 Shelf Number: 131612 Keywords: Crime PreventionHot SpotsProperty CrimesRational Choice TheoryResidential Burglary (China) |
Author: Dengler-Roscher, Kathrin Title: Do Criminals Behave Rationally? Evidence from the Franco-German Border Summary: In this paper we use a new identification strategy to provide further empirical evidence that criminals behave as predicted by rational choice theory. We collected data from German police administration to build an unique data set that contains monthly fuel thefts at gas station level. In a first step, we use exogenous variation of fuel prices to provide empirical evidence that fuel theft reacts to different fuel prices. In a second step, we find empirical evidence that this price effect is stronger when cost-reducing activities of criminals are additionally taken into account. Thereby, we observe the German border area near France where potential French fuel thieves have better opportunities to get away with fuel theft than their German counterparts. Details: Ulm, Germany: Institute of Economics, Ulm University, 2016. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2712872 Year: 2016 Country: Germany URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2712872 Shelf Number: 137655 Keywords: Criminal BehaviorEconomics of CrimeFuel TheftGasoline StationsGasoline TheftPetrol TheftRational BehaviorRational Choice TheoryStealing |