Routine Activities

Theory
Marcus Felson and Lawrence E Cohen. 1979
 Routine Activities Theory
• Developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E Cohen. 1979

• Routine activities theory requires three elements be present for a crime to occur.

• motivated offender with criminal intentions.

• suitable victim or target.
• absence of a capable guardian .

• These three elements must converge in time and space for a crime to occur
Routine Activities Theory
 Routine Activities Theory
• criminal activities are a “structurally significant phenomenon

• violations are neither random nor trivial events.

• It is the routine of activities people partake in over the course of their day and
night lives that makes some individuals more susceptible to being viewed as
suitable targets by a rationally calculating offender.

• the target’s vulnerability; the more suitable and accessible the target
 Routine Activities Theory
• The presence of capable guardians is also held to deter individuals from offending.

• Guardianship can be the physical presence of a person- mechanical devices - video

surveillance or security systems.

• The essential aspect of routine activities theory is the interaction of

motivation, opportunity and targets.

• In this way, the presence of guardians will deter most offenders, rendering
even attractive targets off limits
 Routine Activities Theory
• There are four main elements influence a target’s risk of criminal attack.

• Value
• Inertia
• Visibility
• Access
 Routine Activities Theory
• Offenders will only be interested in targets that they value, for whatever reason

• Inertia is simply the weight of the item. Thus small electronic goods are stolen
more than weighty items

• Visibility refers to the exposure of theft targets to offenders, as when someone

flashes money in public or puts valuable goods by the window

• Access refers to street patterns, placement of goods near the door, or other features
of everyday life making it easy for offenders to get to targets.