Essay on economic model of crime

Words: 1793
Pages: 8
Open Document
Consider major government policies and events since the last general election and evaluate their likely impact on crime. Base your arguments on the economic model of crime.

In this essay I will examine how government polices since the last general election have impacted crime levels. The economic model of crime pioneered by Gary S. Becker in 1968 describes how criminals weigh up the costs and benefits of criminal activity against the legal alternatives. The model has four main aspects in it, which are: the utility derived from legal work (U (W)), the likelihood of getting caught when engaging in criminal activity (p), utility from successful crime (U(W ͨ )) and the disutility from punishment when getting caught (U(S))

U (W) < …show more content…
The government are also trying to restrict the supply of illegal drugs by classifying and controlling drugs, this includes the recent classifying of some supposed ‘legal highs’ such as methoxetamine, a supposedly safe substitute for ketamine. This can be linked to Becker’s model of crime, as with more substances becoming classified the likelihood of someone getting caught when engaging in the taking or supplying of drugs increases. The utility from successfully taking an illegal drug may also decrease when people learn more about the short and long term negative health effects from drugs or supposedly safe ‘legal highs’. This means that if drug use and supply can be effectively combated by government policies at least two parts of Becker’s model will be affected and the number of crimes committed would almost certainly decrease.

Current statistics show that 73% of young people released from custody reoffend within a year; this led to the government to introduce a policy to aim to reduce the number of young people, those between the ages of 10-17, reoffending. The government plan to reduce youth crime by treating a young person’s time in custody as education with detention as opposed to the other way round as this is more likely to increase the chances that the young
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on economic model of crime

Criminal Justice Models

first understand the causes of crime, different types of crime and the the different theories that better helps us understand criminal behavior. Over the years law enforcement and our criminal justice system has evolved. Some aspects may have improved while others may have stayed the same or gotten worse. Crime is defined as a wrong against society proclaimed my law and, if committed under certain circumstances, punishable by society. To fully understand the concept of crime it is important to understand…

Words 744 - Pages 3

Strain: Sociology and Social Structure Essay

this article, Merton created a framework for explaining how crime rates differed from the Chicago school criminologists. For example, theorists such as Shaw and McKay stated that the ghetto slummy areas such as low income housing like the projects foster criminal behavior through the deviant behavior transmitted through the generations. Merton argued that it was the strict devotion to conventional American values has caused high rates of crime and deviance. Basically Merton believed that the conformity…

Words 2602 - Pages 11

Economics of Crime Essay

the prison population would be an effective way to lower the level of crime. This project also show how social interactions between people can effect crime levels in different ways in two similar cities, the result show how different polices would be require for each area as it is long term crime trend that are themselves effecting the current crime level. 2. Introduction The aim of this project is to investigate how crime has decreased since the mid-1990s and if this fall was uniform across different…

Words 3247 - Pages 13

Crime In Baltimore

Mayor Catherine Pugh, I have been requested to inform you of Baltimore’s major crime problem and geographical solutions to fix them. Crime is a very prominent issue in our great city, plaguing it for many years. Other factors, such as poverty and drug use contribute to the high crime rates. Tackling these issues first will help bring down the major issue of crime. But first looking at the geographical placements of Baltimore from its establishment to now will help in this endeavor. Almost 300 years…

Words 1085 - Pages 5

Immigration And Crime Analysis

Immigration Responsible for the Crime Drop? An Assessment of the Influence of Immigration on Changes in Violent Crime Between 1990 and 2000,” Tim Wadsworth claims that the relationship between crime and immigration has been a broad interest in many different fields, like academics, the general public, and legislation, since the late 1800s. Wadsworth, and other social scientists, believe that the rise in immigration, from 1990 to 2000, in the United States has decreased crime in cities with large population…

Words 1125 - Pages 5

This is a more descriptive title Essay

Urban Economics Review for Final Exam Fall 2014 The final exam questions will be focused on chapters 12, 13, and 15. Materials discussed earlier on in the semester may provide you with theories/evidence to help support/craft your final exam answers. Chapter 12 – Urban Education 1) Why should we care about education in general? 2) Compare student achievement in urban settings with student achievement outside of urban settings. 3) The educational production function a) What are the components…

Words 624 - Pages 3

Youth Depression And Future Criminal Behavior

Written Project: Youth Depression and Future Criminal Behavior In the paper, Youth Depression and Future Criminal Behavior, for the National Bureau of Economic Research, D. Mark Anderson, Resul Cesur, and Erdal Tekin examined data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to determine the effect of depression during adolescence on the probability of “engaging in a number of criminal behaviors later in life”. The data collected was from students in grades 7 to 12, in the 1994-95 school…

Words 695 - Pages 3

Criminology Essay3

Bader 1 Prisons have been used as economic engines in our society ever since the rapid expansion of prisons started in 1990. Rural communities begin to turn to building prisons to help boost their economy, which only causes more problems for their community. Addition by subtraction as related to mass incarceration causes more problems than it does create solutions. Our society wants to decrease crime and believes that the more prisons they build will help with that goal, but continuing to…

Words 539 - Pages 3

Essay about Brandy King Week 1 Criminal Justice System

System Brandy King CJA/204 July 29, 2013 Maria Sagues Week 1- Criminal Justice System Crime can be defined as any action, conduct, or behavior that is in defiance of the criminal laws set forth by federal, state, or local jurisdictions, with no legal justification. There are two commonly used models of how society determines which acts and behaviors are criminal. The first model is the Consensus Model. In this model, each component of the criminal justice system is moving towards a common goal. That…

Words 774 - Pages 4

Essay on part 2 marketing assignment catherine

most vulnerable groups within Australia and New Zealand tend to be lower socio-economic households, thus Solo will be positioned within this segment as they are most likely to demand a method of preventing burglary (Prenzler and Townsley 1998). Demographically, these households represent single parent families; stereotypically the adult figure is presented as young urbanised uneducated individuals who reside in high crime areas (Trickett et al 1995). The typical behaviour and nature of the target market…

Words 1072 - Pages 5