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07 Theories of Crime
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07 Theories of Crime

Understanding Crime Theories

Overview of Crime Theories

  • Various theories have emerged over the years to explain why individuals commit crimes, notably the nature versus nurture debate regarding genetic versus environmental influences.
  • While societal views on crime are influenced by these debates, practical day-to-day solutions remain challenging for analysts who must identify and understand crime causes.

Identifying Causes of Crime

  • Understanding the causes of crime is essential for effective prevention; identifying these causes allows analysts to propose solutions that can prevent future occurrences.
  • An individual's behavior results from their actions or reactions in relation to their environment, which can be conscious or unconscious, overt or covert.

Environmental Influences on Criminal Behavior

  • Research has often focused on individual predispositions to crime while neglecting significant environmental factors that may encourage criminal activity.
  • Physical opportunity is crucial for a crime to occur; without it, even those inclined towards criminality cannot act.

Opportunity as a Catalyst for Crime

  • The principle that "opportunity makes the thief" underpins various crime opportunity theories, suggesting that tempting opportunities lead individuals into criminal activities.

Routine Activity Theory Explained

  • Routine Activity Theory posits that crime is normal and contingent upon available opportunities; if a target lacks protection and rewards are deemed worthwhile, crimes will occur.
  • For predatory crimes like theft or assault to happen, three elements must converge: a likely offender, a suitable target, and an absence of capable guardianship.

Understanding Targets in Crime

  • The term "target" extends beyond victims; it can refer to objects (e.g., cars), which may be unguarded when stolen.
  • The "crime triangle" visualizes recurring issues in crime by illustrating how offenders interact with targets and environments.

Factors Influencing Target Risk

  • A target's risk of being attacked is influenced by four key factors: value, inertia, visibility, and access (collectively known as VIVA).

Breakdown of VIVA Factors:

  1. Value - What offenders perceive as valuable influences their choices (e.g., fashionable items vs. less desirable ones).
  1. Inertia - Refers to how portable an item is; smaller items are more appealing than bulkier ones unless easily transportable.
  1. Visibility - Relates to how exposed a target is; thieves need awareness of potential targets' existence and location.
  1. Access - Concerns an offender's ability to reach or control the target without interference from guardians.

Implications of Routine Activity Theory

Understanding Crime Opportunity Theories

Activity Space and Crime Occurrence

  • Criminal events are more likely to occur where the activity spaces of offenders overlap with those of potential targets.
  • An individual's activity space is defined by familiar areas related to daily activities, such as home, work, shopping, and recreation.
  • Nodes represent key locations (e.g., home, workplace) where crime can occur both inside and around these areas.
  • Paths are the routes taken between personal activity spaces; offenders typically search for targets along these familiar paths.
  • Edges refer to boundary areas where different neighborhoods intersect, often leading to higher crime rates due to diverse populations gathering.

Geographical Distribution and Daily Rhythms

  • Researchers emphasize the importance of geographical distribution of crime and daily rhythms that influence movement patterns in communities.
  • Offenders travel similarly to others but usually do not venture far from their familiar environments—often less than a mile.
  • Travel distance varies by age and type of offense; shoplifters tend to travel further than other offenders.

Rational Choice Theory in Crime

  • The rational choice theory posits that offenders make calculated decisions based on perceived risks and benefits when committing crimes.
  • Offenders consider factors like personal needs, target protection levels, neighborhood affluence, police efficiency, and chances of getting caught before acting.

Understanding Offender Behavior

  • Cornish and Clarke (1986) describe crime as an event influenced by an offender's immediate needs and situational factors surrounding the target's vulnerability.
  • It’s crucial to analyze specific subcategories of crime rather than generalizing across all types since motivations vary significantly among offenses.

Commonalities Among Crime Opportunity Theories

  • All three theories—routine activity theory, crime pattern theory, and rational choice theory—share a common premise: opportunity generates crime through offender actions during criminal acts.
  • These theories can be categorized by their focus level: routine activity theory at a macro level (society), crime pattern theory at a mid-level (local area), and rational choice theory at a micro level (individual).
Playlists: CI-01 Basic Intelligence Analysis Course
Video description

By the end of this lesson the student should be able to: • Describe what makes a thief • List the three theories of crime • Explain the differences between Routine Activity Theory, Crime Pattern Theory and Rational Choice Theory • Explain the crime triangle • Relate the four factors that influence the criminal attack • Explain the 3 main concepts of the Crime Pattern Theory • Restate the observations made in relation to the Journey to crime Intelligence Analysis Training has ceased to deliver training, we are making some of our courses available to assist with understanding Intelligence Analysis Applications. We also have written manuals, which, depending upon receipt, may release. This video forms part of our CI-01 Basic Intelligence Analysis Course.