Choice Theory “The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act” (P 84). I chose this topic because some people might say that criminals have no choice when it comes to crime because they were raised to do so and that's all they know. Just because they grew up in crime doesn't mean they can't reject it, they choose to sit there and engage in the criminal act. An Italian social thinker Cesare Beccario developed the theory of choice. His utilitarian approach strongly influenced the criminal justice system and was widely accepted throughout Europe. In the 19th century its popularity began to decline (p. 84). Beginning in the late 1960s, criminology once again began to embrace classical ideas, producing books and monographs that expounded the theme that criminals are rational actors who plan their crimes, can be controlled by fear of punishment, and deserve to be penalized for their misdeeds. P. 84). Rational choice theory evolved directly from the classical theory which is a theory of crime which suggests that criminal behavior is a matter of personal choice, made after the individual has considered its costs and benefits, and that criminal behavior reflects the needs of the offender. It focuses on the poverty of internal and external factors, IQ education, rather than personal choice and decision making. Choice theory breaks down the process by which a criminal makes choices by understanding thinking, such as whether he has a good chance of being caught and being punished. They fear the consequences of punishment, the risk of losing the respect of their peers, of damaging their reputation, they insure the risk of being arrested... middle of paper... criminals out because you have to be kind to understand the course of people's thoughts or the way they perceive things. Criminals almost always consider consequences when committing crime, especially professional criminals if they thought they would be caught they would never have carried out the crime only if there was a part of their plan that they foolishly didn't cover up. Cops tend to do this by thinking like a criminal to make an arrest or if they were a criminal where they would hide the drugs, money and weapons. Every delinquent doesn't consider every punishment criminal in his eyes if he commits a crime and gets caught, he might not care because one of his friends might have been arrested for the same crime and only done a couple of months, which they don't. Now, if they are caught, the crime could be punishable for a longer period than their friend was given.