NCJ Number
189948
Journal
Criminology Volume: 39 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 737-764
Date Published
August 2001
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Drawing from interviews with 50 male robbers and burglars who committed their crimes with others, this paper examines how interactional dynamics modify both the perception of criminal opportunities and criminal decision making.
Abstract
The 50 men were under probation or parole supervision in a metropolitan area in Tennessee following conviction for a robbery or burglary committed with others. All offended in groups of two or more participants. Interviews lasted from 1 to 2 hours and included questions about criminal, work, and family histories, but focused on events that culminated in the current criminal sentence. Analysis focused on passages that contained descriptions of events, deliberation, and decisions. Drawing on extant studies, the author argues that sustained participation in street life and participation in street activities place offenders in situations in which conduct norms make crime feasible and likely. The discussion of the research also addresses patterned interactional dynamics, embedded in street activities, that allow offenders to construct and enact criminal motivation. Finally, the study examined individual influence over criminal decision in groups and demonstrated that some participants played a significant role in shaping the choices made by and available to their co-offenders. Offenders constructed opportunity by improvising situational interpretations, communicating expectations, and negotiating shared meanings. As opposed to many prevailing notions of criminal decision making, decisions in groups are incremental, contextually situated, and affected significantly by variation in members' influence. The findings, therefore, highlight shortcomings of decision making investigations that obscure marked variation in choice by focusing narrowly on individual assessments of risks and utilities. 1 table and 85 references