Decision Making by Criminals Essay -- Rational Choice Criminology Essa

Decision Making by Criminals The issue of whether decision making by criminals is a rational process is a heated topic of discussion when one asserts that crime is the role of choice. Before the classical school of criminology, crime was purview to be the product of the paranormal occurrence of demons, witches, ghouls, and other creatures. The time prior to the classical school of criminology, called the preclassical era, is divided in two parts. Before the time of carry intervention into private matters, each individual dealt with violations of their rights. This was a problem because of the continuous cycle of violence being perpetuated. Soon the State (and even the Church) took on the caper of dispensing natural law and order to the masses of the Middle Ages. This led to a period called the Holy Inquisition which lasted from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century. During the Holy Inquisition, punishment that was scratchy and capricious was the norm. Also, there was no p rotection against bogus allegations, meaning, the burden of proof was on the accused to prove his/her innocence.The classical school of criminology was a response to the stinging times of the Holy Inquisition. It was a product of the Enlightenment, seeking to replace the notions of the divine rights of royalty and clergy with rationalism, intellectualism, and humanitarianism. The two chief ambassadors of the classical school of criminology are Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) and Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Beccaria is widely acknowledge as the father of the classical school of criminology. In his essay Dei deliti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishment), Beccaria asserted that humans are rational, have free will, and are hedonistic. He too claimed that crime can be prevented by convincing warnings of punishments. To succeed in preventing crime, certainty, severity, and celerity of punishment must be present. Jeremy Bentham embraced the utilitarian philosophy of replacing fierce and c apricious punishments with humane punishments and protection against bogus allegations. The classical school of criminology was the foundation of the modern criminal justice system in the Western world. Criminal law and criminal procedure now assume that people are rational actors, thanks to the classical school of criminology. In addition, penalties for crime became more humane and policing move to ... ...minology Explaining Crime and Its Context 5th ed. Cincinnati, OH Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., 2004Exum, M. Lyn. ?The Application and Robustness of the Rational Choice Perspective in the Study of Intoxicated and Angry Intentions to Aggress.? Criminology. Nov. 2002. Vol. 40 solution 4, p933.Frank, Robert H. ?Commitment Problems in the Theory of Rational Choice.? Texas Law Review. Jun. 2003. Vol. 81 Issue 7, p1789.McCarthy, Bill. ?New Economics of Sociological Criminology.? Annual Review of Sociology. 2002. Vol. 28 Issue 1, p417.Mendes, genus Silvia M. ?Certainty, Severity, and Their Relative Deterrent Effects Questioning the Implications of the Role of Risk in Criminal Deterrence Policy.? Policy Studies Journal. 2004. Vol. 32 Issue 1, p59.Nagin, Daniel S. and Raymond Pasternoster. ?Personal Capital and brotherly Control The Deterrence Implications of a Theory of Individual Differences in Criminal Offending.? Criminology. Nov. 1994. Vol. 32, Issue 4, p. 581.Wood, Peter B. and David C. May. ?Racial Differences in Perceptions of the Severity of Sanctions A comparison of prison house with Alternatives.? Justice Quarterly. Sep. 2003. Vol. 20, Issue 3, p. 605