Decisions, Dangers, and Deterrence: New Perspectives on Offender Choice

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel explores the complexities of offender decision-making through diverse methodological approaches, moving beyond traditional single-decision scenarios. The presentations delve into how individuals navigate risk, perceive threats, and evaluate moral choices in the context of potential criminal behavior. One presentation will evaluate the use of multistage vignettes to capture the evolving nature of proactive crime avoidance, revealing the importance of earlier decision points in preventing high-risk situations. Another presentation investigates how perceived weapon risk, influenced by factors like offender race and clothing, shapes bystander intervention decisions, moderated by gun ownership and individual threat perceptions. A further presentation uses virtual reality to explore how offenders perceive criminal opportunities based on neighborhood racial composition and disorder, highlighting the subjective interpretation of environmental cues. Finally, one presentation examines how framing effects, such as loss avoidance versus gain framing, influence moral evaluations of crime, revealing how situational factors impact ethical judgments and offending intentions. Together, these studies provide a nuanced understanding of deterrence and rational choice, offering insights into effective crime prevention strategies.

Sub Unit

• Area II. Perspectives on Crime / 6. Deterrence, Rational Choice and Offender Decision-Making

Individual Presentations

• Framing Effects and Moral Evaluations of Crime - Shaina Herman, Sam Houston State University; Greg Pogarsky, University at Albany, SUNY

• The Offender’s Perception of Race and Disorder in Criminal Opportunities: A Virtual Enactment Approach - William Patrick McClanahan, University of Alabama; Daniel S. Nagin, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University; Marco Otte, The Network Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Peter Wozniak, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law; Jean-Louis van Gelder, Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

• Moving Beyond Single-decision Scenarios: Evaluating the Use of Multistage Vignettes to Study Proactive Crime Avoidance - Jessica R. Deitzer, University of Nebraska Omaha; Timothy C. Barnum, Sam Houston State University; Shaina Herman, Sam Houston State University

• Gun Ownership and Perceived Threat: Exploring Influences on Bystander Decision-Making - Timothy C. Barnum, Sam Houston State University

Discussant

• William Patrick McClanahan, University of Alabama