Underlying Theories
More about the routine activities approach Click here for more information on a book about the routine activities approach
Crime happens when four things come together: a law, an offender, a victim or target, and a place. Environmental criminologists examine the fourth element -- place (and the time when the crime happened). They are interested in land usage, traffic patterns and street design, and the daily activities and movements of victims and offenders. Environmental criminologists often use maps to look for crime patterns.
Rational Choice theory says that criminals think about their decisions before they commit crime. In other words, people don't commit crimes because of forces beyond their control. Criminals commit crime because they benefit from it. The benefits of committing crime are greater than the benefits of not committing crime. Most crimes are committed by reasoning (but not necessarily smart) criminals who think they probably won't get caught and they will have a good payoff in return.
The routine activity approach says that in order for a crime to happen there must be three things -- an offender likely to commit a crime, a suitable target, and no one watching this target. This idea seems pretty obvious, but it is a good way to think about crime if you want to prevent it. If one of the three things is removed, there will be no crime. This approach focuses on crime incidents rather than on offenders, and looks at how everyday life leads to crime.
