Positivist criminology fails to explain criminal behavior adequately because it rests on several faulty assumptions: that crime is a distinct category of human behavior, that there is a dichotomy between criminals and noncriminals, and that there is a dichotomy between victims and offenders. The rational choice perspective on criminal behavior recognizes the mundane and opportunistic nature of offending, stresses similarities between criminals and noncriminals, provides crime-specific analysis, and focuses on the criminal event and situational factors, rather than on characteristics that govern an individual's involvement in crime. There are also many parallels between the rational choice perspective and the victimological perspective in terms of their emphasis on crime as a consequence of normal human interaction, their recognition of the importance of situational variables, the attention paid to criminal motive, and their focus on innovative crime prevention measures. 11 notes and 101 references