Why Crime Occurs in Society

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Law - Criminal process, Criminology, Law Enforcement, grade: 100/100, Lindenwood University, language: English, abstract: Crime occurs every day in our society, leaving criminologists with the task to find the reasons for it. Over the years, they have come up with numerous theories to explain the phenomenon of crime, all shooting at different directions. Some of those theories hold environmental, psychological, biological, or family factors responsible for turning random people into criminals. Although many of those theories have something true and convincing about them, this paper analyzes rational choice theory as the most important factor and its explanation of crime. It explains why criminals decide by themselves whether it pays off to break the law or not.