Routine activity theory

Routine activity theory explains crime opportunities through the convergence of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of capable guardianship.

Motivated offender: A person willing to commit a crime when an opportunity arises. One of the three conditions that must converge for a crime opportunity.
Lawrence E. Cohen: An American criminologist who co-developed routine activity theory. He formulated the theory with Marcus Felson to explain changes in crime rates.
Situational crime prevention: A crime prevention approach that reduces opportunities by changing immediate conditions. It translates the theory’s opportunity focus into practical measures against specific offenses.
Strain theory: A criminological theory linking pressure or blocked goals to deviance and crime. It explains motivation through social pressures, while routine activity theory treats motivation as given.
Suitable target: A person or object attractive and accessible enough to be selected for a crime. The target’s visibility, value, and accessibility shape opportunity.
Marcus Felson: An American criminologist who co-developed routine activity theory. His work helped develop the theory’s account of everyday opportunity structures.
Crime displacement: The shifting of crime to another time, place, target, or method after prevention efforts. Opportunity-based interventions may move offenses rather than eliminate them.
Social disorganization theory: A theory linking neighborhood crime to weakened community institutions and social control. It emphasizes neighborhood structure rather than the immediate convergence of crime conditions.
Capable guardian: A person or measure able to discourage or interrupt an offense. Its presence can prevent the convergence from becoming a crime.
Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach: A 1979 article by Lawrence E. Cohen and Marcus Felson introducing routine activity theory. This article first set out the theory’s explanation of rising crime amid social change.

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