Risk Of Being Victimized Essay

Routine activity theory states that for a crime to be committed, three important factors need to be present including: a motivated offender, an accessible target, and the absence of a capable guardian against a violation. Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen introduced the routine activity theory in 1979, where they believed that an individual who has these three characteristics gives them a greater possibility of committing a crime. Moreover, situational crime prevention is known as strategies of ways for preventing or reducing the opportunities for criminals to commit crimes that derive from the routines of an individual’s everyday life. Ronald V. Clarke introduced situational crime prevention theory in 1983, where he believed that removing the situation instead of removing the criminal could prevent crime. In this paper, I will be discussing what routine activity/situational crime prevention theory is, and apply two peer-reviewed articles from Google Scholar that test the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory by discussing what the authors are trying to figure out and discuss their findings, and lastly, tie the routine activity/situational crime prevention theory articles to our textbook in hopes to fully understand in depth what the theory encompasses.

Situational and social approaches to crime prevention are both proactive where they anticipate and prevent crime but are different in the way on how crime is prevented, each having their own strength and weaknesses. In this essay, I will briefly talk about what is crime prevention and how situational and social approaches are derived, followed by providing a critical comparison of situational and social approaches by first explaining what is situational and social approaches to crime prevention, the differences between the two approaches, their strength and weaknesses and lastly, to show understanding that besides situational and social approach, there are other approaches to crime prevention.

Much of the theoretical progress to explain recurring victimization has been focused on repeat victimization. The leading theories include state dependence theory, risk heterogeneity theory, lifestyle routine activities theory, and rational choice theory. Although these theories have different origins and have been applied to a variety of types of recurring victimization, many of the theoretical concepts have applicability across the different types of recurring victimization.

(Torres, S. 1998) Research indicates that fear of crime, whether self-imposed or realistic, can immobilize individuals, harm the local economy and negatively impact social interactions as well as the quality of life (Albanese, 1990 Skogan (1987) argues that crime victims believe that more crime exists, are worried about victimization and attempt to protect themselves. Parker and Ray (1990) as well as Krannich et al. (1989) revealed victimization to be a predictor related to fear of crime. Additional support for these findings was provided by Smith and Hill (1991), who showed that actual victimization appears to increase fear of crime by increasing the perception of vulnerability. (Torres, S. 1998) Research also shows that fear of crime among minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status is related to their vulnerability in the urban environment (Liska et al., 1982). The elderly who are physically vulnerable and less agile are more fearful of crime even though they are less likely to be victims. (Torres, S. 1998) The proliferation and presence of gangs in the United States is also linked to the concept of social incivilities and increased fear of crime. This problem of fear does not go away. The people not only have a constant fear, it continues to the next generation of people in

Fear of crime, especially random violence and new wave of "superpredators" by young Americans, is among the nation's greatest concerns (Lacayo 28). It has served as the motivation for countless numbers of people to change their lifestyles, take self-defense classes, install home security

When it comes to victimization there are many different theories and types of victims. Mendelsohn explains his theory through “situational victimization factors.” (Robert, 2013). Basically this boils down to the victim being at the wrong place, around other offenders, or in a high crime area. Hentig prefers to describe victims with “personal factors associated with victimization.” (Robert, 2013). Hentig believes things such as, a person’s social standing, childhood, or mental/emotional state determine their likely hood becoming a victim. Lastly we have Sellin and Wolfgang theory that situations determine someone becoming a victim.

Victimization is a consequence of the weak terrorizing the weaker. Individuals that commit acts of discrimination, bias or other kinds of isolated mischief bear some form of deficiency. It has been explained that victims can originate from crime attributed with society, families and peers. They can usually be identified from the Victimology theory profile. Surroundings, environment and opportunity are only some of many components that provoke people to victimize others. September 11, 2001 was a black day that America will not easily forget; however, it certainly not licenses Americans to abuse Arab Americans.

Many citizens believe that there is more and more crime occurring in the United States each year. However, evidence suggests that, for the most part, the United States’ crime rate is decreasing while the rest of the world’s crime rates are increasing. The rate of both violent crimes and property crimes have significantly decreased in the past two decades. In 2014, there were 9.4 million crimes reported, which is a drastic improvement from the 13.8 million crimes that were reported in 1995. Even though these are only statistics for the number of crimes that were reported to the authorities, the trends of victimization also support the idea the crime rates are declining.

on a person’s perception of crime, which can cultivate an unhealthy fear of crime that’s not warranted.

In the United States, violent crime has been steadily declining since its peak in the early 1990s (Lott, 2013). Violent crime, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, includes four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault (FBI, 2012). These crimes are measured by the Justice Department in terms of number reported by victims as well as those tried and convicted in a court of law (FBI, 2012). Despite the steady decrease, the vast majority of Americans admit to possessing a very genuine fear of violent crime both in their local neighborhoods and in the nation at large (Lott, 2013). When surveyed over the last several years, nearly half of the American population consistently believed violent crime had increased from the year prior (Cohn, 2013). In reality, the instances of violent crime had been and continue to be deteriorating at a rapid pace (Cohn, 2013).

This theory proposes that crime occurs when people’s daily behavior allows for opportunities for crime by bringing inadequately protected targets into the presence of motivated offenders. The theory relies on a motivated offender, a suitable target, and an absence of guardianship (Conklin, 2013, p. 209). Possible motivations could be law neutralization such as denial of the victim, status from peers, lack of money for the property, and the rewards outweigh the risks (Conklin, 2013, p. 209). Thieves consider suitable targets based upon the form and value of the property to be stolen, the vulnerability of the target, and the likelihood of victim resistance (Conklin, 2013, p. 213). Guardianship is measured by how well people protect themselves and their property from

Fear of Crime in members of our society today has been widely researched. For the purpose of this essay, fear of crime is used in the context of an individual’s perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime. In this essay it is argued that the elderly and the youngest members of our society are the most fearful of crime and that, of these age groups the elderly have the lowest risk of becoming victims of crime. Firstly, research shows that fear of crime is wide spread and that certain age groups are more fearful of becoming victims than others. Secondly, that the Media’s portrayal of crimes contributes to society’s perceptions of safety and crime itself, increasing fear of crime in these age groups. Thirdly, that the Elderly

The decision to report crimes to the police can have extensive consequences for victims and the criminal justice system. However, the task of portraying accurate crime statistics is made difficult by the differences between numbers of incidents reported to police, and numbers of people who respond positively to victim surveys. Many people respond to surveys stating that they have been victims of crime, but did not report the crimes to the police. Almost one quarter of burglaries are not reported to police. About one half of robberies, and about two-thirds of assaults are not reported. The reasons for victims not reporting crimes include, but are not limited to the following - the victim felt that the crime was trivial or unimportant, was afraid of reprisal, the victim felt that the police would not, or could not do anything or that it incident

Patterns and repetition of the average normal life can also lead to victimization. (Schmalleger, 2015) People are creatures of habit. An attacker can easily access an individual’s weakness through the repetitious daily activities and the frequency of the transaction. The frequency, type of activity, the location, and the specific times can open an individual to the high risk of victimization. The next theory introduces itself because of a specific location.

“People dominate animals, men dominate women.” Each is a relation of hierarchy, an inequality, with particularities and variations within and between them. (Cite Orange book pg. 92.) For centuries, women have been viewed and used as a man’s “property”, whether it is being used for sexual satisfaction or for the sake of bearing children and taking care of the home. Men are typically perceived as head of the household and whatever they say goes; anything to satisfy their hunger for power and control. Have women ever had a say about what they want to use their bodies for? Laws against rape may have changed over time, but men’s consistent aggressive behavior unfortunately, has not.