The Negotiator: Applying a Criminological Theory

Criminology is the scientific approach to studying criminal behavior (Siegel 2006). In the following pages I will apply one of the many theories associated with criminology with a criminal act. There are a number of theories that been developed by sociologist and criminologists throughout the years that explain why people break the law. Many of the early first attempts to explain why people commit crime such as phrenology and biological determinism have been proven to be scientifically implausible. However, there have been many advances in the field of field of criminology and as a result there are many theories that are used to explain away crime.

I have chosen to use the movie "The Negotiator" to do this. Throughout the movie you can see many theories of criminology. However the most prevalent is the rational choice theory. Many criminologists believe that the decision to break the law is made for many personal reasons. Revenge, need, anger, lust and vanity are among these reasons. Regardless of why, criminal actions only take place after the offender has carefully weighed out the potential benefits and repercussions of their actions. Of course rational choice theory can explained further. For instance there are both offense and offender specific crimes. These are very important factors of rational choice because it can explain the reasoning process that criminals use prior to committing a criminal act. An offense specific criminal reacts selectively to a particular offense. The decision to commit the crime is influenced by the probability of getting caught and the available resources to commit the crime. An offender specific criminal must decide if they have the required skill, need and fears to commit a criminal act.