Criminological theory Rational choice Rational choice is based on the assumption that crime is a personal choice and that people can freely choose to participate in that criminal activity based on the results, be they negative or positive. A person may choose to commit a crime because it may seem rewarding and enjoyable. On the other hand, a person may decide to avoid participating in criminal activities for fear of being punished. If the risk of being discovered is too high, you may decide not to commit the crime. In short, a person will carefully consider the costs and benefits before deciding to commit a crime. I believe that rational choice has great validity. In almost every decision you make, you usually evaluate the consequences of your actions. There are very few people in today's society who don't sit there and evaluate the risk of their actions before doing anything. If the risk is too high, most of the time a person will not commit the crime and will worry about the consequences later. However, some people tend to act on impulse and don't tend to think about the consequences of their actions, so rational choice may not apply to everyone. Labeling TheoryLabeling theory states that individuals' behaviors and identities can be influenced by the name, or label, that society gives them. An example of this is a teenager who lives in a gang-populated area and can be identified as one of the gang members. Eventually he or she will start acting like a gang member or even become a member. In my opinion, labeling theory is comparable to stereotype references in that more often than not stereotypes are proven to be true or accurate. For example, labeled...... middle of paper ......ed during an illegal search and the court denied his motion to suppress. However, the United States Supreme Court upheld the conviction stating that the officer's search, even though he had no probable cause to arrest Terry at the time of the search, satisfied the conditions outlined in the Fourth Amendment. From Terry v. Ohio, a stop and frisk by an officer was henceforth called "stop and frisk". This case is also one of the many emblematic cases whose details we should know. From my criminal procedure and criminal investigation courses, I have learned that the primary purpose of stop and frisk is officer safety. I think it's a good measure when you stop someone and suspect they have a weapon on them. An officer should have the right to search them if they fear for their safety or believe the person is carrying a concealed weapon.