The Problem Analysis Triangle: Environmental Criminology-Routine Activity Theory

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.

Due to these apparent successes, the problem-focused approach has been used to address a diverse array of problems such as gangs, drugs, school crime and the management of police call for service in urban, suburban and even rural communities. The exploration of possible responses to a problem is handled by police officers. Once a problem is identified, officers are expected to work closely with the community members to develop a solution, which can include a wide range of alternatives to arrest. These may focus on the offender, the community, the environment, outside agencies, or the need for some kind of mediation. Problem-oriented policing grew out of twenty years of research into police practices, and differs from traditional policing strategies in many significant ways. For example, problem-oriented policing enables police agencies to be more effective. Currently, police agencies commit most of their time to responding to calls for service. Problem-oriented policing offers a more effective strategy by addressing the

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

The term “problem solving” in this context implies more than just simply eliminating and preventing crime. It is a concept that assumes that crime can be reduced in an area by studying the characteristics of the problems in that area and then applying the appropriate resources. The theory behind the concept is that underlying conditions create problems, and problems created by these conditions may cause incidents. These incidents will continue as long as the problem that creates them exists. Determining the underlying causes of crime depends, in great part, on an indepth knowledge of community. Thus community partnership will be of great assistance in the problem solving process. Cooperative problem solving also builds trust, and facilitates the exchange of information, and also leads to identifying other areas that can benefit from the mutual attention of the police and community (Gaffigan, 1994).

The book defines ecological, as “a type of sociological approach that emphasizes demographics and geo

While these foreseeable critical issues certainly pose a set of substantial concerns for and potential threats to policing in the future, many can be dealt with and effectively addressed in the present-day through the implementation of a handful of changes. The first change that can start to take place in the policing world today is to establish

Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson (1979) expanded on these principles and introduced routine activities theory as an ecological perspective on criminal behavior. Furthermore, the quintessence of routine activity theory is the assertion that there are three necessary components that must be present for crime to occur: the motivated offender(s) (individuals seeking/able/willing to commit offenses), presence of

Through out the years Criminologists has conducted a great amount of research and through that research Criminologist has developed different theories in order to better understand and explain criminal behavior. Theories try to help make sense out of many observations that are conducted presenting the facts of the principal that connects and explains the theories. If good theory has been developed; then it becomes very valuable to Criminologist, because it shows the knowledge that is beyond the facts that has been presented; which will show Criminologist how to predict how others might behave (Andrews, D and

Problem oriented policing is geared toward solving problems. The first step in problem oriented policing is the identification and selection of a problem. One method of identifying, analyzing and selecting a problem is known as SARA. The acronym SARA stands for scanning, analysis, response, and assessment (Cronkhite, 2013). The Center for Problem Oriented Policing has several problem-specific guides for different problems that police and a community may face. The guides cover a variety of subjects ranging from burglary to gas drive offs. Each guide discusses the problem and factors involved and offers suggestions derived from police report and research of the problem (Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, n.d.).

The integrated patrol strategy brings a community-oriented concept of supervising into play, which law-breaking prevention and reduction efforts are functional on a broader scale, rather than concentrating specifically on a group of people within a particular location. The integrated patrol strategy, also calls for more improved fact-finding processes and data distribution between organizations to help in effective solutions to resolving crimes and chase tendencies and configurations, as well as, the potential to toughen contacts between agencies at all levels. Paralleled to the traditional enforcement strategy which reacted to crime after the fact, and only relating different emphases to certain situations,

Two policing strategies will be used to help in the reduction of domestic assaults in the local area. They are problem-oriented policing in collaboration with third party policing. Problem-oriented policing hinges upon a systematic approach which identifies issues and yields ethical and suitable responses using a concept called the SARA model, SARA standing for Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment (Rogers, 2010). This strategy is a framework that integrates solutions to complex issues therefore allowing police to have an action that advances greater analysis, perception and reactions to a crime or disorder (Drew & Prenzler, 2015). Third party policing involves an alliance between police and third parties such as local governments, business

There are many theories that attempt to explain the cause of criminal events. One such theory is routine activity theory developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson in 1979. This theory was meant to fill the gaps in existing models that failed to adequately address rising crime rates during the 1960 's (Browning et al., 2000). Cohen and Felson suggested that crime should be thought of as an event that occurs at a specific location and time and involves specific people and/or objects (Felson,

CTPED or Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is defined as “The prevention strategy which outlines how the physical environments can be designed in order to lessen the opportunity for crime.” (Queensland Police Department.) CPTED not only is defined by this definition, but it focuses on four more characteristics that help to make this design work effectively, and smoothly. These four characteristics are: maximizing the risk that offenders face, maximizing the effort required by offenders to commit crimes, minimizing the benefits that offenders can gain from committing crimes, and finally minimizing the excuses for opportunities toward offenders. COP is defined as “Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues, such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.” (Community Policing Defined." Community Policing Dispatch). CPTED and COP are methods that promote strong communities to deter crime, and provide the community with alternatives to stop crime from ever happening in the first place. As well as these definitions, the strategies of COP, and CPTED, these strategies are based off of the broken windows theory. The broken windows theory is the theory that states once criminals see an area that is under-patrolled, they will commit more crimes

The hypothesis claims that “changes in routine activity patterns can influence crime rates by affecting the convergence in space and time of the three minimal elements of direct-contact predatory violations” and that “the absence of any one of these elements [motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of suitable guardians against a violation] is sufficient to prevent the successful completion of a direct-contact predatory crime.” (1) The authors claim that controls for routine activities, therefore, are essential to maintaining order and keeping the crime rate down. They also note that and understanding of temporal and spatial relationships are key to understanding the changing crime rates. Illegal acts are events that occur in space and time and involve specific persons and/or objects. The spatio-temporal organization of everyday activities is what allows criminals to turn their criminal ideas into reality. Dispersion of activities away from the household has led to a change in the spatio-temporal relationship that increases the opportunity for crime, which in turn increases the crime rate itself.

This concept is called the crime triangle. With knowledge of the elements within the crime triangle the risk of a crime being committed can be estimated and preventative measures may be put in place. Motivation according to Vellani is created by the actual target for the crime which is the asset or assets. An asset contains of people, property and information. Vellani states that removal of motivation probably is impossible, and therefore the focus for security programs should be reducing the opportunity to commit crime. Vellani suggests that the crime triangle is an easy and effective method of illustrating how crime can be prevented.