Routine Activity Theory Essay

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Routine Activity Theory -VS- Lifestyle Theory The field of criminology and victimology is guided by explicit theories that are formulated and developed over time. I have chosen two theories I would like to discuss. Routine Activity Theory and the Lifestyle Theory have played a leading role in making individuals victims of crime. These individuals are not influenced in just the same way; but one of which is certain in similarity is the result, which happens to be crime. In the essay below, the two theories will be compared in relation to how they influence behavior and lead individuals to crime. Routine activity theory mainly focuses on crime as an event and disregards the figure of crime or other social and biological factors (Maxfield, 1987). Space and time along with its underlying implications are also a …show more content…

A person who lives a life where the violence against women is the order of the day will eventually become violent against women because of his or her psychological state of the mind. The theory goes ahead to illustrate that there are certain factors that makes a person becomes a victim of his environment or lifestyle and these are the opportunity, choice and incentive. The choices that a person makes in the face of crisis are very important because they form part and parcel of his attitude towards life. The lifestyle theory is also known as the exposure theory. This theory is the example of the theories of victimology which seek to espouse the reason as to why some people are predisposed to committing crimes while others are not. This theory relies on the concept of lifestyle to make its postulation and asserts that the concept of lifestyle has a huge bearing on the probability that a person will suffer personal victimization. It is designed to explain habitual criminal activity by focusing on the cognitive factors that support antisocial

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