Rational Choice Theory Criminology

In the case of Brown V. Entertainment merchants Associations, the issue raised is that of violent video games being purchased by underage consumers (Oyez). The legal question at issue is Whether or not the First Amendment prevents a state from restricting the sale of violent video games to minors.

The classical school of criminology is foundationally based upon the history of crime and punishment. Throughout history, crime was dealt with in an extremely harsh and inhumane manner. Criminals and suspected criminals were quartered, burnt at the stake, tortured, and subjected to other forms of extreme violence. These methods were used to get a confession or punish people for even minor crimes such as theft. The people of the Enlightenment period of the late 1600 's paid attention to this behavior and this is why a

In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, the US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that California could not ban the sale of violent video games to minors because studies "do not prove that violent video games cause minors to act aggressively."

The Classical school of criminology can be known as the free will to act at one’s own discretion, where an individual chooses to break the law upon a desirable choice. The Classical emphasizes how the system was organized, punishments for crime, and how authorities should react to crime. On the other hand, positivist school was created to see what influences an individual to break the laws, based on human beings’ behavior. Positivist school is simply trying to analyze who, what, and how crime is initiated. This study will identify the schools’ argument, and if they complement each other, the advantages and disadvantages, and the different approaches or points of view from multiple criminologist regarding the schools and theories.

Criminology and the criminal justice system have framed a “taken-for-granted, common-sense” understanding of ‘crime’ and the ‘criminal’ (Tierney, 2010). ‘Crime’ is commonly understood as a violation of the criminal law; originating from religion and the sin of God and then moving towards Classicalism. Classicalism rests on the assumption of free will and recognises rational choice of the individual. It influences much of our system of justice today; especially aspects of due process. It argues that criminality is therefore part of nature; and order is maintained through law and punishments. We can see this through Beccaria’s approach of certainty, celerity and severity (Beccaria, cited in Newburn, 2013, pp116). Positivism, associated with theorists such as Lombroso, offered more of a scientific approach in identifying the causes of crime and could recognise impaired ability such as mental illness. It argues that ‘crime’ is

In the essay “The Supreme Court Tackles Violent Video Games” written by Katy Steinmetz, the author does a good job showing all the different points of view on the subject. Should the government be allowed to prohibit the sale of video games or is it a violation of free speech? This question is very difficult to tackle, the author states direct quotes from protesters. One protester is Lisa McKee she states “I don’t think keeping violent games out of the hands of minors is the government's job… It is the parent’s job to monitor what their children are playing” Thinking about this situation is difficult because one could think like the Supreme Court Justice’s do which is that the video games can create dangerous scenarios for children and could

and Justice Thomas had critisiism and concers about the entire choice made by the court regarding the subject of violent video games being sold to minors with parent permission. The two opinons also contrast in many ways.

Here, I stand before you, Your Honor, to represent the California law, which states to restrict the purchase of video games by minors, namely children under eighteen, and appeal the majority’s opinion of Justice Antonin Scalia on Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, U.S. Supreme Court (June 27, 2011).

Through the data obtained from Noveck’s research, it is clear that there is some rationalization behind criminals and whether they commit crimes or not. Criminals consider the cost of the crime and whether they believe it is in their best interest to commit the crime. One important factor to acknowledge is the cost of the crime. For property crimes, if the amount of money taken is significant enough to believe that the consequences aren’t harsh, the criminal will commit the

In recent years, we have seen many video games criticized and bashed in the public eye for their disputable content. However, the game industry has been subjected to controversy since the creation of its first adult themed games such as Death Race 1976 or Custer 's Revenge 1982. These two graphics limited games have introduced video game violence to the public and since then debate about morals and ethics of video games evolved over the years together with the game experience thanks to modern technologies. Violence is one aspect of many that can cause great controversy that’s why it is important to create a suitable ethical, cultural and legal context as it can determine its failure or its success. In this paper, I will present an example

Choice theory was born out of the perspective of crime causation which states that criminality is the result of conscious choice. This theory is also known as the rational choice theory. According to this theory, the choice whether or not to commit a criminal act is the result of a rational thought process that weighs the risks of paying the costs of committing a crime, against the benefits obtained. In other words, if the benefits--monetary or otherwise--outweigh the risks of sustaining the costs, such as fines, imprisonment or execution, then according to this theory the individual would be inclined to commit the crime, all other things being equal. In this calculus, the benefits are known. For example, “this diamond that I want to

The Classical School of Criminology was developed by two utilitarian philosophers, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the early 17th century. The Classical School of Criminology is an important theory in the framework of criminal behavior, with principle themes that include: criminal acts are of individuals free will and rational deliberation, calculating, and hedonistic beings. Criminals make a rational choice and choose criminal acts due to maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. As well as minimizing crime, the would be offender must be convinced that the likely punishment for the crime would be swift, certain and proportionately (Paternoster & Bachman, 2001, p. 11).

Video games have become a staple in the entertainment industry. Families coming from various backgrounds across the world own a video game system. Shooting games such as call of duty have become particularly popular amongst young teenagers. These types of games have led to a very popular debate. The question being do violent video games make children violent? Prosecutor Steven F. Gruel believes that they do cause children to become violent while defense attorney Patricia A. Millett argues that there is not enough evidence to prove this to be true.

The first step to compare these theories is to better understand them. The Classical School of Criminology “refers to an approach that emphasizes free will and rationality on the part of the criminal actor,” (Hagan, 2013, p.112). This theory was a revolutionary idea because it claimed that the person who commits the crime had a rational choice in committing the crime that was committed because the individual has free will to act in such a manner. The most famous advocate for this theory on criminology Cesare Bonesana used this theory to conclude that if the society was clear on what laws were and the punishments of the laws in place then this would reduce the crime being committed because people who break the law are rational and have free will. “Since, potential criminals had

In some states, it has been illegal for adolescents under the age of eighteen to purchase violent video games. In Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich is trying to outlaw the sale of excessively violent video games to