1 MODEL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM MODULE 5 Crime Theories and Crime Opportunity.

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MODEL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

MODULE 5

Crime Theories and

Crime Opportunity

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Module 5 Topics

• The Problem Analysis Triangle

• Routine Activities Theory

• Crime Pattern Theory

• Rational Choice Theory

• 10 Principles of Crime Opportunity

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Traditional Criminology

• Focuses on criminals and why they are criminals (e.g., biology, sociology, culture, etc.)

• Personal and social factors are beyond the reach of everyday police practice

• Most traditional theories focus on motivations but ignore opportunity, victim and environment

• Ignores the opportunities required for a crime event to occur

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Focus of New Crime Theories

• Crime, not criminality

• Events, not dispositions

• Near, not distant causes of crime

• How crime occurs, not why it happens

• Situational and opportunity factors

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The Problem Analysis Triangle

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The Complete ProblemAnalysis Triangle

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Offender Handlers

• Offenders are strongly influenced by people that matter:– Parents– Spouses– Peers– Teachers/Coaches– Probation Officers

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Place Managers

• Places are sometimes watched and managed by caretakers:– Homeowners and long-term renters– Building Superintendent– Bartender, managers and owners– Street Venders– Train Station Managers

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Target/Victim Guardians

• A target is property and a victim is a person

• People can protect and oversee themselves, their belongings, or those of family, friends and coworkers

• Guardians also include public police and private security

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Theoretical Foundations of POP

• Routine Activities Theory: A crime may occur when a Likely Offender and Suitable Target come together in Space and Time in the absence of Capable Guardians

• Crime Pattern Theory: Crimes have a tendency to cluster based on routine activities

• Rational Choice Theory: Offenders commit crime based on an assessment of benefits and risks

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Elements of Routine Activity Theory

• A suitable target is available.

• There is a lack of a capable guardian to prevent the crime from happening.

• A motivated offender is present.

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So, for a crime to occur:...a motivated offender must find a suitable target in the absence of a

capable guardian...

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Motivated Offenders• Why People Commit Crime

– Gain/Need• Poverty or a drug habit

– Society/Experience/Environment• Peer pressure, coercion, lack of education

– Beliefs• Belief that some crimes aren’t wrong, protest

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Absence of a Capable Guardian

• A capable guardian is anything, either a person or thing, that discourages crimes from taking place. These can be formal or informal.

– Police Patrols– Security Guards– Locks– Fences– Lighting

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A Suitable Target

• A Person

• An Object

• A Place

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VIVAValue, Inertia, Visibility, Access

• Value - The offender must either value the target for what they gain or value the effect they have on it.

• Inertia - The size or weight of an item can effect

how suitable it is.

• Visibility - How visible a target is can affect its suitability.

• Access - If a target is easy to get to, this increases its suitability.

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CRAVED

• Not all products are equally at risk for theft• They must be:

– Concealable– Removable– Available– Valuable– Enjoyable– Disposable

• CRAVED items can also change over time(CDs then vs. IPODs now)

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In-Class Exercise

• Identify examples of potential targets within each CRAVED category.

• List some steps that might be taken to reduce the desirability of these items.

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Crime Pattern Theory

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Incident Clusters

• Behaviors. Certain behaviors are common to the incidents.

• Places. Certain places can be common to incidents.

• Persons. Certain individuals or groups of people can be common to incidents.

• Times. Certain times can be common to incidents.

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Clustering of Crime/Criminals

• Repeat offenders focusing on different targets at different places

• Repeat victims repeatedly attacked by different offenders at different places

• Repeat places (or “hot spots”) involving different offenders and different targets interacting at the same place

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The 80-20 Rule

Generally, a small number of things are responsible for a large proportion of outcomes.

• For example, a small number of hurricanes account for a large amount of the overall damage.

• Similarly, small numbers of offenders (20%) are responsible for a large number (80%) of the crimes; or, 20% of the victims may account for 80% of the victimizations; or, 20% of places are the locations for 80% of the crimes.

• The percentages vary by the particular problem, but the rule is important because crime is highly concentrated on particular people, places, and things.

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Does the 80-20 Rule Apply?

• Repeat Offenders

• Repeat Targets/Victims (Hot Products)

• Repeat Places or Hot Spots (Risky Facilities)

• Repeat Times – crimes may also be concentrated in time (e.g., DWI on Friday nights).

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Rational Choice Theory• Decisions to offend are constrained by time, cognitive ability and

information

• “Perceptions” of the situation and of risks and rewards is more important that actual circumstances

• Decisions vary by the different stages of the offense and among different offenders

• Individuals who are not normally “criminals” may choose to offend based on the perceived risks and rewards

• If offenders choose to commit crimes based on a number of factors, then those factors can be altered to discourage them from choosing to offend

• Crime in many circumstances is not inevitable!!

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Crime Opportunities & Decisions

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Opportunity Theory Principle“Opportunity Makes the Thief”

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10 Principles of Crime Opportunity

1. Opportunities play a role in causing all crime, not just common property crime.

2. Crime opportunities are highly specific.

3. Crime opportunities are concentrated in time and space.

4. Crime opportunities depend on everyday movements of activity.

5. One crime produces the opportunities for another.

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10 Principles of Crime Opportunity6. Some products offer more tempting crime opportunities.

7. Social and technological changes produce new crime opportunities.

8. Crime can be prevented by reducing opportunities.

9. Reducing opportunities does not usually displace crime.

10. Focused opportunity reduction can produce wider declines in crime.

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Conclusion• Opportunity has been neglected in criminology

• Personal and social variables are important but difficult for police to address

• Crime is a product of interactions between people and their environment

• Opportunity theory enhances prevention by focusing as much on targets and guardians as on the offender

• Displacement rarely becomes a problem

• Crime opportunity deals with one of the most important and controllable contributing factors of crime, which is the decision to commit crime

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In-Class Exercise

• While the opportunity to commit crimes exists for everyone at some point and time in their lives, many choose not engage in criminal activity. Discuss the factors that contribute to most people’s decision not to engage in the following crimes:

– Shoplifting– Theft from a parked vehicle– Assault in a bar– Tax fraud– Drinking under age

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Campus/Local Area Exercise• This exercise may have to be adapted depending on the nature of the

campus or setting.

• Partner with another person, go to the parking lot, and document the contents and condition of one another’s vehicle. Include:

– Name of fellow student– Make, model, year, color of vehicle– Crime prevention devices available– Crime prevention devices in use (e.g., locks, alarms, clubs)– Property in the vehicle in view– Other observations about the vehicle

• You will document your observations of your fellow student’s vehicle and rate it from 1 to 10 on crime prevention vulnerability/opportunity — 1 being not very vulnerable and 10 being very vulnerable to crime.