The 1980s, for most Americans, started at a troubled time. Iran hostage crisis, energy crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s were just a few things added fueling the Cold War paranoia. The crime surge from the 1960s not only continued, but the crime rate even reached at its peak during the 1980s. Besides of typical violent and property crimes, white-collar crime began to increase by the 1980s as a new type of professional crime with frauds including healthcare, insurance and stock markets (FBI 2018). On the other hand, with new President Ronald Reagan implemented series of new political and economic politics, notably ‘Reaganomics’, it achieved a wide economic growth for the nation. However, the wealth gap equally increased,
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As an institution, the theory became far more formalised and mature as a stand-alone criminology theory by the 1980s. The concept of criminal investigative analysis relying on collected crime statistics had become a dominant approach of investigation by the FBI. Study of criminals' behaviors, personalities and physical traits were conducted for investigating, identifying, tracking and profiling potential criminals. Situational crime prevention had become a preferred crime-control policy (Clarke & Cornish, 1983). Clarke and Cornish (1987) utilized rational choice theory as a proper tool to view criminal behavior as 'the outcome of decisions and choices made by the offender'. Rational choice theory was given a more enhance perspective on criminal’s psychological thinking based on rational decision at this stage. If the benefits of crime is higher than the cost, the crime will happen. Vise versa, it will not. The implication of this theory could be applied easily on the crime rate in America during the 1980s using New York City as an example below, along with identifying institutions and organisations that causes crime rate to …show more content…
Cocaine could be obtained as cheap as $2.50 in NYC (DEA). Crime rates, particularly with violent crimes and homicide, spiked as a result of uncontrollable drug problems in the metropolitan area. Viewing this through the rational choice theory, drug selling requires low skill level and minimum initial resources, hence it attracted many young people as an easy way to make money (Inciardi 1994). Likewise, with cocaine being easily purchasable and affordable, users relied it for ‘recreational use’ and saw it as an easy way to escape from reality. But, they all underestimate the side effect from drugs towards their health, as well as Regan’s new drug enforcement
As an institution, the theory became far more formalised and mature as a stand-alone criminology theory by the 1980s. The concept of criminal investigative analysis relying on collected crime statistics had become a dominant approach of investigation by the FBI. Study of criminals' behaviors, personalities and physical traits were conducted for investigating, identifying, tracking and profiling potential criminals. Situational crime prevention had become a preferred crime-control policy (Clarke & Cornish, 1983). Clarke and Cornish (1987) utilized rational choice theory as a proper tool to view criminal behavior as 'the outcome of decisions and choices made by the offender'. Rational choice theory was given a more enhance perspective on criminal’s psychological thinking based on rational decision at this stage. If the benefits of crime is higher than the cost, the crime will happen. Vise versa, it will not. The implication of this theory could be applied easily on the crime rate in America during the 1980s using New York City as an example below, along with identifying institutions and organisations that causes crime rate to …show more content…
Cocaine could be obtained as cheap as $2.50 in NYC (DEA). Crime rates, particularly with violent crimes and homicide, spiked as a result of uncontrollable drug problems in the metropolitan area. Viewing this through the rational choice theory, drug selling requires low skill level and minimum initial resources, hence it attracted many young people as an easy way to make money (Inciardi 1994). Likewise, with cocaine being easily purchasable and affordable, users relied it for ‘recreational use’ and saw it as an easy way to escape from reality. But, they all underestimate the side effect from drugs towards their health, as well as Regan’s new drug enforcement