Submit a research paper with the following components:
(1) the overview section submitted in Unit V as part I of the paper (provided)
(2) the review of literature submitted in Unit V as part I of the paper (provided)
(3) An evaluation of how the selected theory impacts an individual’s decision to commit crime, which will be added in this unit. Information presented for Units V and VII should be supported with scholarly resources as noted in Unit V.
Discuss how the selected theory affects an individual’s decision to commit crime.
Your paper must be a minimum of five pages. You must use a minimum of four scholarly resources
Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed.
The economic theory of criminology states that modern capitalism is the primary cause of society’s crime. According to Karl Max and William Bogner, who contributed to the economic theory of criminology, capitalism is a significant contributor to wealth inequality and poverty, which correlates to increased crime rates. Capitalism’s financial system potentially creates crime as an individual in a capitalist society aims to amass as much wealth as possible irrespective of the harm done to others. This capitalist notion leads to increased wealth disparity between the haves and haves not and ultimately creates a cycle of poverty and crime.
The U.S. criminal justice acts under the guise of the economic principle of criminology. The law enforcement agencies assume that crime is rampant in low-income neighborhoods exacerbated by the poverty levels in society. The law enforcement agencies also increase policing in minority neighborhoods as they are associated with increased poverty levels. The increased policing in these neighborhoods creates a perception that poverty is the sole indicator of crime. The judiciary system also utilizes the principles of the economic theory of criminology since people have unequal access to the law. The judiciary uses the cash bail system, where the accused must pay a stipulated amount of money before trial. In addition, wealth disparity makes the difference between being found guilty or not, influencing the length of sentence and type of prison one is designated. Punishment for crimes depends on a person’s social status; thus, impoverished criminals receive stringent penalties. The privatization of the prison industry showcases the importance of profit for the capitalist economy. Capitalism is the primary influence of the privatization of prisons since it is worth approximately $9.3 billion. The criminalization of poverty has led to increased recidivism rates due to the excessive parole and probation rules, creating more revenue streams for the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system imposes enormous fees and fines, which leads ex-convicts back to prison.
According to La Vigne, Fontaine, and Dwivedi (2017), there exists a positive correlation between documented crime and poverty-stricken neighborhoods. There is a distrust of law enforcement agencies emanating from the aggressive methods used by the police, such as pre-textual stops that undermine public confidence. Residents of these low-income neighborhoods experience increased policing and high rates of incarceration. The article indicates that communities with limited resources experience a high rate of documented policing than affluent neighborhoods; thus, there is no equity in the criminal justice system. The increased policing is due to the belief that poverty creates criminals.
The cash bail system showcases how the criminal justice system views poverty as an indicator of criminal activities. According to Hunter (2020), the cash bail process criminalizes poverty and disproportionately affects minority communities. The criminalization starts where people who fail to raise funds for bail are detained for weeks or months as they await trial. In addition, the cash bail system showcases that wealth inequality is a significant factor in the justice system since low-income earners get detained despite not being a threat to public safety.
The prison industry has drastically changed as the growth rate of private and for-profit prisons has increased over the last couple of decades. The privatization of the prison industry serves the interests of stakeholders of the companies running the prison facilities. The primary reason for privatization is to increase profits; thus, their growth is dependent on the ability to obtain contracts to develop new prison facilities. According to Gotsch and Basti (2020), the prison industry lobby’s for stricter sentencing practices and increased enforcement efforts to increase the number of incarcerations. This profit-driven process leads to increased policing in low-income areas.
Parole and probation are the most frequent monitoring systems for ex-convicts. However, the use of these systems leads to increased financial strain on ex-convicts in terms of fees and fines. These payments are part of the agreement to secure their conditional release from prison. According to Ruhland (2016), people from low-income backgrounds face an enormous task sustaining the payments due to a lack of employment opportunities. Recidivism levels will reduce when these draconian systems are scrapped.
The economic theory of criminology analysis of criminal behavior is similar to an economic decision-making process since it is based on a cost-benefit analysis. However, two assumptions are made; cost-benefit analysis based on expected utility from criminal behavior is inherent in rational beings. In addition, an individual’s response to incentives influences participation in criminal activity. According to Garoupa (2014), the primary factors influencing an individual’s decision to commit a crime include the expected gain from the criminal activities relative to legal employment.
The gains from criminal activities depend on the individual criminal and include monetary benefits obtained from robber and fraud. The cost of a crime depends on the criminal activity and includes direct material costs, mainly including supplies purchased to commit the offense. The cost-benefit analysis entails the difference between the monetary value of legal activities foregone while planning and performing the criminal act. The lower an individual’s income level, the higher the chances of committing a crime. Individuals earning low wages have low crime opportunity costs since they do not cede substantial legal income. The economic theory of criminal behavior thus leads to the expectation that more criminals have low levels of income relative to the whole population.
Property crimes such as theft and burglary are rampant in impoverished neighborhoods like Philadelphia. Philadelphia has one of the highest poverty rates in the U.S., where 26% of the city’s population lives below the federal poverty level. The high number of impoverished individuals leads to an increase in crime rates. As a result, Philadelphia has a property crime rate of 46%, higher than the national average of 35%. One of the primary reasons for this increase in property crimes is the need to obtain material goods that poor residents cannot attain through legal means due to their economic status.
The increase in property crime rates negatively affects society, leading to increased policing and mass incarcerations. This situation affects future generations since it continues the vicious cycle of poverty and violence. Wealth inequality leads to increased engagement in property crimes becomes the norm of attaining higher economic status; thus, the youth drop out of school and continue the vice since there are no legal opportunities for economic prosperity. Wealth inequality is a significant determiner of a country’s crime rate. The U.S. has the largest incarceration population and ranks third in terms of income inequality among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, thus highlighting how income inequality significantly contributes to criminal activities.
The economic theory of criminology ascertains that potential criminals are economically rational thus respond to deterring incentives. The model presumes that the choice to commit a crime is based on an individual’s choice perceived consequences which differ depending on the opportunities available to each delinquent. The assumption is that crime and the same inherent factors determine legitimate work. The lower the legitimate earnings, the higher the probability of committing a crime (Witt & Witte, 2021). Economic theory predicts a cause-and-effect relationship between improvements in the labor market and lower crime rates. Low-income wages or job loss heightens the risk of an individual committing property or violent crimes due to economic necessity, while a higher income deters criminal activities.
According to research, raising the minimum wage to $12 from $ 7 per hour reduces crime rates by 3 to 5% indicating a decrease of approximately 510,000 crimes (Lehman, 2021). In addition, a 10% increase in wages for employees with no college degree results in an approximately 10 to 20% decrease in crime rates. Therefore, reducing crime entails increased payoffs in terms of legal activities. This can be accomplished by improving the domestic labor market by raising the minimum wage limit. Furthermore, improvement in employment status deters crime since higher wages could make working more appealing than illegal activities.
The economic theory of criminology states that wealth disparity in a capitalistic economy is the primary cause of society’s crime. The theory concludes that poverty leads to increased crime levels. The economic theory has been utilized in the U.S. criminal justice system through increased policing in impoverished areas, bail and bonds to imprison poor citizens and enormous fines for parole victims. Monetary gain is a motivating factor for poor individuals’ engagement in criminal activities due to the low opportunity cost of crime relative to legal opportunities. Therefore, improving the domestic labor market serves as an incentive to reduce crime levels.
Garoupa N. (2014) Economic Theory of Criminal Behavior. In: Bruinsma G., Weisburd D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_409
Gotsch, K., & Basti, V. (2018). Capitalizing on Mass Incarceration: U.S. Growth in Private Prisons | The Sentencing Project. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/capitalizing-on-mass-incarceration-u-s-growth-in-private-prisons/
Hunter, L. (2020). What You Need To Know About Ending Cash Bail. Center for American Progress. https://americanprogress.org/article/ending-cash-bail/
La Vigne, N., Fontaine, J., & Dwivedi, A. (2017, February). How Do People in High-Crime, Low-Income Communities View the Police? Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88476/how_do_people_in_high-crime_view_the_police.pdf
Lehman, C. F. (2021). Minimum-Wage Hikes and Crime. City Journal. https://www.city-journal.org/minimum-wage-hikes-and-crime
Ruhland, E. (2016). The Impact of Fees and Fines for Individuals on Probation and Parole. Retrieved from https://robinainstitute.umn.edu/news-views/impact-fees-and-fines-individuals-probation-and-parole
Witt, R., & Witte, D. (2021). Crime Causation: Economic Theories – Economic Model Of Criminal Behavior: Basic Theory, Extensions Of The Basic Model, A Brief Sketch Of The Empirical Evidence On The Supply Of Crime. Law.jrank.org. https://law.jrank.org/pages/802/Crime-Causation-Economic-Theories.html
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