Routine Activity TheoryCohen and Felson in the 70’s3 elements must converge in TIME and SPACE for crime to occur (if one is missing, crime wont happen)…1. motivated offender: always there2. suitable target: core dimensions of criminal opportunity3. lack of capable guardians: core dimensions of criminal opportunitysupply of MO as given: shift of focus from offending to victimizationchange in crime across time and space can be explained by the core dimensionsST = benefits of crime, CG = costs of crimeST and CG influenced by our everyday “routine activities”After world war 2, peoples focus shifted from home to outside activities (women are more likely to work outside rather than staying home…a lot more developed in the suburbs parking lots)People leave their houses empty while going out and leaving their cars in parking lots increases the chance of car theft and property crimesSmartphones are light and expensive = suitable target for thieves who are looking for the easiest way to steal thingsOur change in routine activities increased our chance of victimized theftThe spatial and temporal structure of routine activities location, type, and quantity of crime (increases as we shift our routine activities)Predictive policingPredict what type of crime and where and when it will happenBased on routine activity theoryIncrease use by PD’sPositivist School of CriminologyClassical School:Dominant theory of crime for 100 yearsPhilosophical argument rather than scientific oneYou have a choice whether you commit a crime or notPositivist School:Emerged in the last 1800’sCrime due to forces beyond the individuals controlYou don’t have a choice whether or not you commit a crimePremises of positivist school:Empiricism = we can only understand crime through observations and measurements; our own experimentsDeterminism = offenders behavior; criminals behaviors based on certain forces that are beyond our control (we cant decide whether or not we commit a crime)Early Biological PositivismBiological features distinguish criminals from non-criminalsInfluence of Charles Darwin (1809-1882)Precursor – Franz Gall’s phrenologyCan tell what type of characteristics a person has based on their behavior“maybe we can distinguish human beings based on something we can see (biologically or physiologically)”Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909)On Criminal Man (1876)Most criminals were born as criminals (closer to animal stage in the evolutionary process)AtavismCriminals were born as such“throwbacks” to a more primitive evolutionary periodcriminals identified by certain physical features (stigmata) (things that you can measure by just looking at someone’s features)born criminals vs. criminaloidsmost important distinction is born criminals (more biological and physical features) & criminaloids (minor offenders who are much more influenced by opportunities as opposed to biological features)later considered social factorsItalian criminology school: Ferri, GarofaloExtermination, incapacitation (prison) of criminals – Mussolinis facismIdea that criminals and non criminals can be distinguished as physiological characteristics… people who are deviant to society are easy to distinguish and can be put in prison or exterminated; these factors can help us make those decisionsWe can study criminal behaviors based on measureable and empirical dataEmpiricism: based on what we can seeContribution: scientific study with measureableCharles Goring (1870-1919)Data on traits of more than 3000 convicts and a large control groupRefuted Lombroso’s notion of physical differencesFound criminals were shorter and lighter of diminished intelligenceMalnutrition can result in shorter in height or lighter in weightErnest Hooton (1887-1954)Proposed connection between physical inferiority and crimeInferiority genetically transmittedArgued for the segregation of criminalsArgued that t can be transmitted across generationsHeredity and CrimeClaims delinquency and crime are inherited traitsRobert Dugdale – The JukesVisited a state prison in NY and found that a lot of prisoners are related to each other through family membersTraced an ancestry in the Jukes family, found that there were a lot of criminals and deviantsHenry Goddard – The Kallikak FamilySimilar approach of looking at their family tree and criminal record (large proportion ended up being criminals)Families are deviant and criminal-likeSocial DarwinismApplication of “survival of the fittest” to human societyCriminals are unfit for modern civilized societyCriminals are NOT the survivorsEugenicsMovement to control genetic composition of a populationAssumes criminality genetically transmittedTarget criminals for sterilizationCritique of Early Biological PositivismSuggest a genetic source for a socially defined category of behaviorUnquestioned acceptance of consensus perspectiveApplying criminal behaviors to socially defined behaviorsOften based on inappropriate samples and faulty statistical analysisCompatible with authoritarian/totalitarian thinkingWanted to have a good justification that certain segments of the population are inferior ( population can be distinguished by biology and physiology)Routine Activity Theory/Positivist&Classical School 03/11/2013Routine Activity Theory- Cohen and Felson in the 70’s- 3 elements must converge in TIME and SPACE for crime to occur (if one is missing, crime wont happen)…1. motivated offender: always there 2. suitable target: core dimensions of criminal opportunity 3. lack of capable guardians: core dimensions of criminal opportunity- supply of MO as given: shift of focus from offending to victimization - change in crime across time and space can be explained by the core dimensionso ST = benefits of crime, CG = costs of crimeo ST and CG influenced by our everyday “routine activities” - After world war 2, peoples focus shifted from home to outside activities (women are more likely to work outside rather than staying home…a lot more developed in the suburbs parking lots) - People leave their houses empty while going out and leaving their cars in parking lots increases the chance of car theft and property crimes - Smartphones are light and expensive = suitable target for thieves who are looking for the easiest way to steal things- Our change in routine activities increased our chance of victimized theft - The spatial and temporal structure of routine activities location, type, and quantity
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