The Portfolio Project is a two-pronged inquiry into a category of criminal behavior, requiring students to select a type or category of criminal behavior and then apply research and theory to provide descriptive and theoretical analysis.

The choice of topic should be a narrowly-defined criminal behavior of interest to the student (e.g., domestic violence, stalking, a telemarketing fraud/security fraud, employee theft, date rape, illegal drug trade/use, etc.).

My choice of topic is burglaries and the rational choice theory and Social process theory.(But more may apply)

For the crime research component of the project, students will conduct research in order to identify what are known in the field as crime factors—basically descriptions of the characteristics of the type of crime under investigation. The crime information should include at least one definition (legal or/and sociological), the distribution of the crime (locally, nationally, and globally [at least one other country]), and some or all of the following crime factors: an offender profile, victim profile, typical offender-victim relationship, situational factors (e.g., time, place, drug use and weapon . . .), social control factors (e.g., cultural values, public opinion/reaction, law enforcement and criminal sanction, and/or others).

The second component requires students to apply one or more criminological theories presented in the course to a critical analysis of the selected type of crime. The analysis should explain what the theory or theories offer in analyzing the type of crime and discuss the strengths and limits of the theory’s application to the selected type of crime.

Keep in mind that the focus of this paper is the type of crime and your analysis of it; while it is important that any research paper recognize the strengths and limits of the application of theory, the primary purpose here is not to critique the theory (or theories) itself.

More than one theory may be appropriate to various attributes of the crime. Theory application is not only naming the theory and summarizing its main elements, but must also present key concepts and propositions of a theory and make clear what aspect(s) of the crime can be explained by the theory.

Support your work with at least seven peer-reviewed, academic sources, in addition to the course textbook. Your essay, reference list, and sources should be formatted according to APA Format and 8 to 10 pages in length