Temporal Constraint Theory to Explain Opportunity-Based Spatial Offending Patterns

• NCJ Number: 214928
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 261-291
• Author(s): Jerry H. Ratcliffe
• Date Published: August 2006
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article proposes that the spatio-temporal patterns of criminal opportunities are dependent on the temporal constraints placed on offenders.

Abstract

The author demonstrates how temporal constraints, such as the requirement to be at work or school at certain locations at certain times, constrain the travel patterns of the noncriminal journeys that are typically thought of as central in the identification of criminal opportunities. These temporal constraints to travel impact both the timing and the route of travel and, when coupled with the location of offender nodes, act as a major influence on the spatio-temporal patterns of property crime. The author notes that this proposed theory is not a universal theory that will explain all offending patterns and that a recidivist offender and career criminal are likely to be less influenced by spatio-temporal constraints. In constructing this theory, the author examined the evidence supporting routine activities theory, which argues that a proportion of offending is driven by the criminal opportunities that present themselves during the routine activities of everyday life. Miller’s time measurement theory is reviewed in order to understand the movement of people through time and space and environmental criminology is examined for how it explains the criminal event as an interaction at a place and a time between an offender and a target. Aspects of rational choice theory, which claims that much offending is opportunity driven, are also reviewed as are other types of empirical research that focus on the situational component of the crime event location. The theory holds value for practitioners who want to better incorporate time considerations into their offender control strategies. Future research should focus on reexamining offender spatial behavior patterns with a greater emphasis on the temporal constraints driving their everyday lives. Figures, note, references