Economic theory of criminology

Criminology Theory: Economic Theory of Criminology

Criminology and the thought processes of criminals have long been a point of contention for society. Here, the need to identify why and how criminal behave the way they do ultimately provides a means of maintaining the integrity of society. In addition, the need for continual research in the field is required as criminals continue to develop new and unique methods in which to disrupt the underlying values and principles of society. By continually learning about criminal behavior, law enforcement in conjunction with governments and communities can better protect law abiding citizens while also mitigating unlawful behavior. Once such theory that contributes to this is that of the economic theory of criminology. This theory was originally formalized by Gary Becker in 1968 and has been adapted over the year by many criminologists around the world. The theory states that criminals, from an economic perspective are rational and respond to incentives placed by the criminal justice system. Here, would be criminals compare the potential gain of the crime, the likelihood of being success at the crime, against the possibility to getting caught and the consequences associated with it.

This explains a large amount of criminal behavior, particularly when the individual feels they have “nothing to lose” from a psychological perspective. Many criminals feeling they have little to no alternative in life often see the punishment of crime as small when compared to what they will gain. For example, those with large amounts of wealth and financial freedom are less likely to commit very egregious crimes such as murder as compared to other who feel they have nothing to lose in life. The most recent example occurred in the New York City subway mass shooting that occurred on 13-April-2022. Here, the shooter Frank James was apprehended by police. In prior YouTube videos that were uploaded just two days before the incident, James was seen saying, “I\'ve been through a lot of s**t, where I can say I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die right in front of my f**king face immediately.” Although a clear motive has not be ascribed to the incident, he does note that he has been through a lot of incidents in his life. In regard to his socio-economic status, James had little to lose as he had been arrested 12 prior times. He has been unable to establish a long-term career, with various stints with DoorDash, Uber, and warehouse work. At nearly 65 years old, James had very little economic life left from a productivity standpoint. Here, the benefits of getting back at the community that appears to have wrong him over the years, outweighed the consequences of prison time, thus substantiating the economic theory of criminology.