ROUTINE ACTIVITY
THEORY
Group 9 &10
INTRODUCTION
This theory was created by Lawrence E. Cohen and Marcus K. Felson, based
on their 1979 pubication of their seminal article "Social Change and
Crime Rate Trends: A routine activity approach". They viewed that crime
is a normal function of the routine activities of modern living that is
offenses can be expected if there is a motivated offender and a suitabe
target that is not protected by capable guardians.
Routine activity theory also sometimes reffered
as lifestyle theory primarly focused on providing
information regarding who is more or less likely
to be a crime victim.
The idea is that crime is the result of people's
everyday behavior, of the way in which offenders and
victims go about their daily lives
Crime is not someting extraordinary that requires a
deep psychological analysis. Instead, the theory says
that for crime to occur, three elements must be
present, namely (1.) motivated offender, (2.) suitable
target, (3.) absence of capable guardians
Motivated offender
Suitable target Absence of capable
guardian
MOTIVATED OFFENDERS
Motivated offenders are individuals with both the capacity and the
willingness to commit wrongdoing (Felson & Lawrence, 1980; Miro, 2014).
SUITABLE TARGET
suitable target could be either a person or property the
motivated offender can readily identify and engage
(Nickerson, 2022; Miro, 2014).
ABSENCE OF CAPABLE
GUARDIANS
Capable guardians could be individuals or objects that effectively deter criminal
conduct via their simple presence in time and space. This type of either informal or
formal guardianship can prevent wrongdoing even when a suitable target has been
chosen by a motivated offender (Nickerson, 2022).
THANK YOU
