CS 102

Theories of Crime Causation

Topic: Rational Choice Perspective

Discuss the following:

1. What is deterrence theory and its components?

 A core principle of classical school and rational choice theories. Deterrence

theory states that crime can be controlled through the use of punishments that
combine the proper degrees of certainty, severity, and celerity.

Components of Deterrence Theory:

1. Severity: The more severe a punishment, it is thought, the more likely that a
rationally calculating human being will desist from criminal acts.
• To prevent crime, therefore, criminal law must emphasize penalties to
encourage citizens to obey the law.
• Punishment that is too severe is unjust, and punishment that is not
severe enough will not deter criminals from committing crimes.
2. Celerity: Swiftness with which criminal sanctions are applied after the
commission of crime.

3. Certainty: probability of apprehension and punishment for a crime (e.g.,

“There is a 1% chance I will get caught, and if so, they would never throw me in
jail”)

a. Give the basic types and other types of deterrence?

1. General Deterrence - is the doctrine that a community or a society of people can

be deterred from committing a criminal act after having witnessed the
punishment of an individual or individuals for having committed that act. It can be
defined as the impact of the threat of legal punishment on the public at large.
General deterrence results from the perception of the public that laws are
enforced and that there is a risk of detection and punishment when laws are
violated.
2. Specific deterrence - can be seen as the impact of the actual legal punishment
on those who are apprehended. Specific deterrence results from actual
experiences with detection, prosecution, and punishment of offenders. The belief
is that if an individual is punished for a criminal act, then that individual will be
less likely to violate the law in the future.

Other Types of Deterrence:

  Perceptual Deterrence. This concept applies to an individual offender, and
refers to what he or she believes the likelihood of arrest to be, and how
severe he or she believes the punishment for a crime will be if caught. The
perceptions of the individual are often very different from the actual reality
experienced.
 Absolute Deterrence. This refers to the amount of crime that has been
prevented simply due to the fact that a formal system is in place so that an
individual could be legally punished for committing a criminal act.
 Marginal Deterrence: A relatively more severe penalty will produce some
reduction in crime.

2. What is Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)?

 This refers to a set of practices designed to make potential criminal targets less
attractive.

 The belief that crime is a rational act is used to make a potential target less
attractive to a criminal, and thus not a “rational” target.

3. What is Crime Pattern Theory?

 Crime pattern theory - (P. L. Brantingham & Brantingham, 1993;P.J.

Brantingham & Brantingham, 2008) suggests that crime occurs when the activity
spaces (e.g., home, work, shopping, entertainment, etc.) of offenders and the
activity spaces of targets intersect.

4. Discuss the Expected utility theory briefly.

 Economic theory which states that people will act in a manner that increases their
benefits and reduces their losses.

 This ties in closely with classical criminology and, by definition, rational choice theory,
where people seek to increase their pleasure and reduce their pain.