Activity Fields and the Dynamics of Crime: Advancing Knowledge About the Role of the Environment in Crime Causation

• NCJ Number: 230223
• Journal: Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 55-87
• Author(s): Per-Olof H. Wikstrom; Vania Ceccato; Beth Hardie; Kyle Treiber
• Date Published: March 2010
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For additional articles see NCJ-230220-222 and NCJ-230224-226.

Annotation

This study sought to contribute to the advancement of theory regarding the role of the social environment in crime causation, and to the development new methodologies that can better capture the role of exploration of the causes of acts of crime.

Abstract

The current understanding of the role of the social environment in crime causation is at best rudimentary. Guided by the theoretical framework of Situational Action Theory, and using data from the ESRC financed Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), this paper aims to propose how to better theorize and study the role of the social environment, particularly the person and place interaction, in crime causation. The paper introduces, and illustrates the usefulness of, a space-time budget methodology as a means of capturing people's exposure to settings and describing their activity fields. The paper suggests and demonstrates that, combined with a small area community survey and psychometric measures of individual characteristics, a space-time budget is a powerful tool for advancing our knowledge about the role of the social environment, and its interaction with people's crime propensity, in crime causation. The unique data allows for the study of the convergence in time and space of crime propensity, criminogenic exposure and crime events. As far as what is known, such an analysis has never before been carried out. The findings show that there are a) clear associations between young people's activity fields and their exposure to criminogenic settings, b) clear associations between their exposure to criminogenic settings and their crime involvement, and crucially, c) that the influence of criminogenic exposure depends on a person's crime propensity. Having a crime-averse morality and strong ability to exercise self-control appears to make young people practically situationally immune to the influences of criminogenic settings, while having a crime-prone morality and poor ability to exercise self-control appears to make young people situationally vulnerable to the influences of criminogenic settings. Tables, figures, annexes, and references (Published Abstract)