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essay on the routine activities theory.
essay on the routine activities theory.
essay on the routine activities theory.
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Routine Activity Theory Routine activity theory essentially is broken down into three components that describe crime committed in the midst of everyday life and routine. An example of a routine activity crime is, a woman leaving the front door of her house open, someone walking into her home and stealing items from her. The criminal could justify their actions by saying the woman should not have left her house open. A few things that this theory offers are that offenses that fall into this category are showing crime rates in normal activities and offers sensible crime prevention strategies. However, the weaknesses of this theory hardly even make the strengths, look like strengths. With this theory, people tend to avoid the base reason
“The Normality of Crime” in The Rules of Sociological Method
When criminals think that the benefit of committing the crime will outweigh the cost if they get caught, they make a choice to commit the crime. There are two varieties of rational choice theory. One, situational choice theory, which is an extension of rational choice theory and two, routine activities theory or RAT, which states that the daily routine or patterns in ones’ activities make it much easier for an individual to become a victim of crime. The theory is, crime is more likely to happen when a criminal and their victim come together in the absence of authority (Schmalleger). A situation made easier to come by when the criminal knows the victim’s daily routines or patterns.
The first theory is victim precipitation. This theory infers that some people may actually initiate the confrontation that eventually leads to physical suffering. This initiation is either active or passive. Active initiation occurs when a victim acts provocatively, such as using threats/fighting words or actually making the first attack. Passive initiation occurs when the victim unknowingly carries some personal characteristic that either threatens or encourages the attacker (Siegel, 2012, p. 80). The second theory is the lifestyle theory, the belief that crime is not a random occurrence but rather a function of the victim's lifestyle. This does not always carry a negative aspect. An example of this would be a college student living on a college campus. The college student is a female and habitually drinks on campus surrounded by other people also drinking. Her lifestyle puts her at a higher risk of victimization as it has been found that sexual assaults on campus involving females usually involve the use of alcohol (Siegel, 2012, p. 81). The deviant place theory inserts the belief that the greater the exposure to dangerous places, the more likely people will become victims of crime and violence (Siegel, 2012, p. 82). Lastly, the routine activities theory insinuates that volume and distribution of predatory crime "are closely related to the interaction of three variables that reflect the
On March 17, 1942, John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was younger, he was involved with activities such as boy scouts and odd jobs around his neighborhood. It is said that while Gacy wasn’t popular, he was well-liked by those people who knew him (Taylor, Troy). Gacy’s father was an alcoholic and would often abuse Gacy and his siblings if they were thought to have made trouble. His father would also abuse his mother. When Gacy was playing on a swing set at age 11, he was hit in the head with a swing. After this, Gacy would suffer from blackouts. However, when Gacy was 16, the doctors found that blood clots in his brain were the cause of his blackouts and, with medicine, they were able to stop the blackouts. When he was about
Essentially, through a process of conceptual integration, different aspects of each theory can be used in conjunction to compensate for what each individual theory fails to explain, and thus can further both the scope and policy utility of the theories (Paternoster & Bachman, 2001). For instance, low self-control theory asserts that low self-control is the cause of crime all the time. This may be true for some criminals, but many criminals, like those involved in white collar crimes, do not adhere to the principles of low self-control. In addition, while low self-control theory is useful in explaining why individuals may act in a certain way, it does not explain the situations that must be met for a crime to occur (Brunet, 2002). On the other hand, routine activity theory describes the situational factors that must be present for a crime to occur, but it is more difficult to apply this theory to sexting because the offender and victim do not necessarily have to meet for the crime to occur (Wilsem,
Rational Choice Theory is the belief that man is a reasonable actor who decides means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes rational choices. Routine activity theory provides a simple and powerful insight into the causes of crime problems. At its heart is the idea that in the absence of effective controls, offenders will prey upon attractive targets. Social Control Theory gives an explanation for how behavior conforms to that which is generally expected in society. Social disorganization theory explains the ecological differences in levels of crime based on structural and cultural factors shaping the nature of the social order across communities. This approach alters the sociological studies on which is any of two or more random variables exhibiting correlated variation of urban growth to examine the concentration and stability of rates of criminal behavior. Strain Theory. Conflict theory explains the belief that individuals choose to commit a crime, which many po...
The field of criminology has produced multiple theories, each that shaped the perception of how crimes occur in a neighborhood and by viewing these various impressions this can help explain why crimes occur. However, four criminological theories have developed the different perspectives of researchers and outlooks of the field. These approaches have enhanced society by allowing it to analyze crime by establishing an empirical foundation that way to assess which approach is most useful and regulate the difference between a good theory and a bad theory. Every method experiences level of criticisms from either researchers or public policies, however, the focus is only based on four principles that way there can be an assessment to decide which approach is viewed as right or wrong. In order, to determine which approach can be considered a good theory versus a bad theory there needs to be essential elements that give support for each theory. There needs to be criticism, however, with enough empirical evidence that can determine which
Ronald V Clarke originally developed the idea of situational crime prevention in the 1980’s (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). This particular crime prevention theory addresses techniques that increase the effort required to commit the crime, increase the risks involved with committing the crime, reducing the reward gained by the offender after committing the crime, reducing the provocation between the offender and others and remove excuses (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Majority of crime is believed to be committed because there are no high risks of being caught and the rewards outweigh the risks (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Increasing the effort by controlling access to locations and target hardening can deflect many offenders, as more effort is needed to commit the crime (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Another main technique would be to increase the risks; this may be achieved by extending guardianship, creating natural surveillance or artificial surveillance such as CCTV (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005).
The routine activities theory is a logically consistent theory. Cohen and Felson defined the concepts they used, and the proposals they hoped to convey. Their proposal was as they defined that for a crime to occur you needed three elements (motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of a capable guardian), and that when those three elements come together to form routine activities. (Akers, 35). Each element is defined by Cohen and Felson and if one of the elements is not there then a crime will not occur. Although the logical consistency is generally great, the definition of motivated offender is too broad. However, it is not clear about who the motivated offender is. It could be a person who is already inclined to commit a crime or someone who is at the right place at the right time and given the opportunity.
This theory believes the criminal was provoked or encourage by the victim. Then there’s the Deviant Place Theory, the best way to explain this theory is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then there is the Routine Activity Theory, a theory that can be calculated by different risk factors in your life, for example, if you live in a bad neighborhood and you go on vacation your risk of getting robbed is higher. Finally is the Lifestyle Theory. This theory basically states that you are as good as who you hang out with. Personally I agree with this theory. I believe that some personalities can be molded by the people they hang out with, so if they hang out with people with negative personalities eventually they will develop negative traits. For example, on Oct 26 2012 Joshua Smith made a decision to take his mother's life. As a young teen he would hang out with thugs and always tried to get ''street cred''. Eventually Joshua Smith became aggravated with his mother because she wouldn't allow him to do things his so called crew did. In the end he made the decision to take his mother's life and is now serving 25 to 27 years in
They both wanted to know why crime had increased so greatly in the 1960’s. Cohen and Felson then divided all crime in three major categories. Cohen and Felson “argued that crime events required three minimal elements to converge in time and space: (1) an offender who was prepared to commit the offense; (2) a suitable target, such as a human victim to be assaulted or a piece of property to be stolen; and (3) the absence of a guardian capable of preventing the crime. The lack of any of these three elements, they argued, would be sufficient to prevent a crime event from occurring”("Routine Activities Theory (Criminology Theories) IResearchNet," n.d.). The Routine Activities Theory is a theory of crime events. It breaks down each crime and scenario to depict what a true crime is. This relates to race as well because race has a lot to do with crime. The race of the person in the crime helps with breaking the crime down as well as putting it in the FBI stat
...ifferent crime patterns and thought processes of criminals. The reasons can only come from these theories and will help the justice systems become more prepared to react towards different crimes. However, with adding some enhancements, projects and experiments these two theories have the potential to change the criminology realm forever.
In Occupational Therapy (OT), ideas and theories go through various modifications. Practitioners dealing with Occupational therapy use craft as therapeutic mechanisms because people do feel that they are capable of accomplishing anything when they prove to themselves that they can do an art and compete it on their own. Crafts vary in their purpose; some deal with self care such as cooking, sewing, cleaning, and mending. Other crafts are generally meant to deal with a dysfunction faced compared to other crafts. An assessment of theoretic crafts to determine if it fits the best interests of a patient is through looking at the treatment goals of OT to a specific individual.
Similarly, routine activity theory argues that attention should be focused on the condition in which the crime takes place rather than on the offender. It was devised by Cohen and Felson (1979). They argued that the contemporary society invites high crime by generating illegal opportunities such as public display of expensive portable goods (iPods, iPads, laptops, mobile phones) which are carried out by
Crime is an in inevitable occurrence in today 's culture. Despite the best efforts of our country 's criminal justice system, crime continues to be on the rise. In an effort to reverse this rising tide, efforts are being made to understand the underlying cause of crime and factors that can lead an individual into the life of crime. From the sociological perspective, there are three theories that are used to explain the cause of crime. They are the social structure theory, the bad neighborhood theory, and the social process theory.