Consider how economics of law can provide helpful insights into Essay

Consider how economics of law can provide helpful insights into controlling an increase in crime rates - Essay Example According to Bodell & Kerton (1995) â€Å"The higher the cost of being detected, the lower is the expected profit† (Bodell & Kerton, 1995) This refers to the notion that offenders are always at risk, therefore they expect higher profit with greater rate of risk involved in committing crime. Thus they might use an accomplice to watch for police, buy more sophisticated equipment to break into cars more quickly, etc. On the other hand, some potential offenders find that the expected reward from crime is less than the expected cost. Similarly, if the opportunity which knocks at the door of offender which costs his devoted time to criminal activity, potential offenders are likely to reduce their criminal activity. The greater the opportunity, the higher would be the cost, thus we expect the supply of crime to decrease when good jobs in the legitimate sector are plentiful, and to increase when unemployment is high. In fact, several studies have confirmed this theory, by showing that crime rises and falls with the business cycle and the ups and downs of the economy. What about the â€Å"demand† side of the market? Potential victims can take costly actions such as installing burglar alarms, taking cabs instead of walking in high-crime areas, purchasing defensive firearms, and taking lessons in self-defence. All of these activities might affect the potential victim’s chances of being victimised. Although potential victims do not actually â€Å"demand† crime, they do demand-and devote considerable resources to trying to achieve-reductions in their chances of being victimised. This is the reason for why they â€Å"demand† less crime. However according to Kopcke et al (2004) â€Å"Workers react this way even if demand declines temporarily† (Kopcke et al, 2004) refers to the notion that even if the local authorities go on with penalties and punishments, that would not completely deter offenders.