NCJ Number
137320
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 70 Issue: 1 Dated: (September 1991) Pages: 147-163
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article explores the macrostructural tenets of the routine-activity approach to the etiology of crime, based upon a sample of 52 nations that spanned 25 years (1960-1984).
Abstract
Routine-activity models view crime or the risk of victimization as a process whereby social structural change causes a change in the nature and frequency of routine activities and, subsequently, in the levels of risk. Although routine-activity models in the literature incorporate varying explanatory concepts and levels of analyses, each includes reference to a central core of three concepts; these are the suitability of the target, proximity of the victim to a pool of motivated offenders, and level of guardianship over the target. In contrast to previous macrolevel research that addresses only a few of the approach's central concepts, the current study acknowledges the multifaceted nature of the approach and the multidimensionality of its central concepts. All three core concepts are operationalized and each (except guardianship) is then measured with the use of multiple indicators. This study found that the routine-activity model is crime-specific, in that it explains property crime better than crime against persons. In addition, individual variables influence crimes differently. The findings suggest that the routine-activity approach, as an explanatory tool, is most appropriate when the social structure is defined by the following characteristics: an income per capita between the low and high range (target attractiveness), a level of hard-goods manufacturing between the low and moderately high range (target accessibility), a level of inequality that is high or when relative inequality is prevalent (motivation), and a low to moderately high proportion of women in the work force (guardianship). 2 tables, 19 notes, and 35 references