Felson’s Crime & Everyday Life

Part 1

The Routine Activity Theory

Overview
Felson forces readers to think realistically and
creatively about crime and crime control.
The book presents the Routine Activity Theory –
that crime originates in, and can be controlled
through, routine activities of everyday life.
Theory offers a “new criminology” that breaks
from media and political biases that often drive
crime control efforts with recognition that crime is
normal human behavior.
 Key Features of the
Routine Activity Theory
Crime is a normal.
Opportunity is a root cause of crime.
Crime occurs in the the presence of temptations
and absence of controls involving:
 Likely and motivated offenders.
 Suitable targets.
 Absence of capable guardians.
Crime can be controlled socially/informally and
naturally by decreasing temptations and increasing
controls.
Main Points in Chapter 1:
Fallacies About Crime
Crime is less dramatic than it seems in the media.
Be careful about your image of the criminal –
don’t imagine as too ingenious, organized, evil,
innocent. And, most importantly, don’t pretend
criminals are “them” and you’re “us.”
Remember – most people who talk about crime
have some sort of agenda or axe to grind. Focus
on crime itself, and not all the distractions.
Look for ways to make criminology more, not
less, objective.
10 Fallacies of Crime

Dramatic Fallacy Organized Crime

Cops & Courts Fallacy Fallacy
Not-Me Fallacy Juvenile Gang Fallacy
Innocent Youth Welfare-State Fallacy
Fallacy Agenda Fallacy
Ingenuity Fallacy Whatever-You-Think
Fallacy
Discussion Questions

Which of these 10 fallacies about crime do

you find difficult to resist?
What sorts of information do you need to
continually resist these fallacies?
Why doesn’t everybody engage in crime?
What stops you from committing crime?
Main Points in Chapter 2:
The Chemistry for Crime
A criminal act has 3 elements – likely offender,
suitable target, and absence of guardian.
A fight begins with an insult and escalates – often
with alcohol and an audience. Peacemakers can
quiet things and prevent escalation.
Offender activities are most important for defining
crime categories.
Offenders “CRAVE” hot products and targets of
violence for specific reasons.
Opportunity is the root cause of crime.
The Importance of Setting

“Settings” are where people converge or

diverge to influence crime opportunities.
Just as economists study markets,
criminologists can study settings.
“Settings are the central organizing
feature of crime and its absence” (p. 21)
Chemistry for Crime

Every crime has both a particular and a

common chemistry.
Chemistry for crime can be applied to:
 Predatory Crime
 Fights
 Illegal Markets
Three Elements of Crime

A likely offender.
A suitable target.
The absence of a capable guardian against
the offense.
Additional Important Crime Elements

Props that help produce or prevent crime

(e.g., weapons, tools)
Camouflage that helps the offender avoid
notice.
Audience the offender wants to impress or
intimidate.
Guardians:
Peacemakers and Place Managers
Ordinary citizens in usual roles can serve as
guardians against crime.
Examples:
 Homeowners and long-time renters
 Building superintendents and receptionists
 Bartenders, managers, owners
 Small-business persons and store managers
 Street Vendors
 Security People with focused responsibilities
 Park and playground supervisors
 Train station managers
 Bus Drivers
Hot Products
Some products are stolen more often than others.
In Hot Products, Clarke (1999) explains that
certain goods are “craved” by thieves because they
are:
 Concealable
 Removable
 Available
 Valuable
 Enjoyable
 Disposable
The Impact of Setting
Setting influences how much the targets within
them are “craved.”
Features of setting that can influence desirability
of targets and temptation v. controls:
 Access
 Entries and Exits
 Visability
 Value
 Inertia
Some Considerations
Offender Motive: Criminal acts are often fueled by
different motives (and different types of offenders) which
can influence the types of targets they select. Important to
remember – as motives shift, so do targets.
Differences in human categories: Certain types of people
are more/less likely to be offenders and victims at
different times and situations.
Theft of Heavy Items: The general retail value per pound
rule is most applicable in urban areas. The weight of items
increases the farther from the city and/or when item has
wheels.
Popularity: Crime rate trends depend on what’s popular
among youth.
Where do Crimes Occur?
The Social Ecology of Crime
(from the work of Brantingham & Brantingham)

Nodes: Settings that provide particular

crime opportunities (homes, schools,
workplaces, entertainment areas)
Paths: Pathways between nodes offer crime
opportunities and risks.
Edges: Where two local areas touch crime
is most risky. Edges are high crime areas
(e.g., edges of campus).
Chemistry for Crime in a Nutshell
Each crime has a particular and a common chemistry.
Offenders are only one small element of crime.
Within settings, presences, absences, entries, exits, value of
targets, etc must be considered.
Some settings favor one offense but not another.
Illegal activities feed on routine legal activities.
Everyday life organizes the type and amount of crime in
society by more or less delivering temptations without
controls.
Opportunity is the root cause of crime.
Main Points in Chapter 3:
Crime Decisions
Offenders make decisions and respond to settings
that limit their choices.
Offenders freedom to decide is greater at some
moments and lesser at others.
Violent and sexual offenders can be explained by
the routine activity theory – they make choices
and even though their behavior may seem bizarre,
it can be explained by usual developmental,
cognitive, and behavioral processes.
Temptations versus Controls
Everyday life delivers uneven temptations and
controls.
Crime is committed by people who are tempted
more and controlled less.
Studies show clearly that offenders are tempted
and controlled by tangible factors in immediate
settings.
Can be understood through a modified utilitarian
model – “principle of limited rationality” – the
average person can’t keep everything in mind in
weighing the consequences of committing a crime.
Self Control
All human beings are weak and need some
help with self control.
Self control interacts with external
controls and temptations – someone with
low self control faced with low temptation
and external controls may not be prone to
crime.
Blame
Paradox in assigning blame - the criminal justice
system is founded on blame - people make
personal choices to commit crime and should be
held accountable. However, society delivers
temptations and controls limiting (or not)
criminal actions.
Can be understood through the “Potato Chip
Principle” – at some moments we have fewer
choices than others – a person never has complete
freedom or complete constraint, but the degree of
constraint shifts by time, place, setting.
Self-Control Cues
We’re all born weak and need reminders to
stay out of trouble.
Although those low in self-control tend to
be more likely to commit crimes and to
have many other problems, self control is
not purely and individual trait. Better to
think in terms of “assisted self-control” (p.
43) – reminders in various social settings.
Stigma and Crime Control
Stigmatizing certain groups, people, geographical
areas interferes with crome control.
A stigma is not an environmental cue that tells
something about crime or its control.
We tend to use careless and ineffective stigmas
that serve only to point fingers at someone other
than ourselves.
Felson says, “. . . Forget the stigmas or halos.
Regard the people in your midst with a moderate
dose of benign suspicion” (p. 44).
Violence as Rational
If find out how an offenders think, will
come to understand that all criminals use
practical techniques in the context of
routine activities when they commit crime.
From Felson’s perspective, all violence is
instrumental.
The words “emotional” and “rational” are
not opposites.
Everyday Roles and Crime Chances

Married people and those living with family (and

others) are less likely to be both offenders and
victims.
Despite the “family violence industry” (p. 48),
people are safer at home.
When a young person moves away from home,
this turning point creates a greater chance of
victimization.
Association with delinquent friends can be an
intoxicant. Thus, being around all others does not
necessarily reduce crime chances.
Discussion Questions

Thoughts on this theory of crime?

Strengths/weaknesses of the theory?
How will you go about conducting your
analysis of the “chemistry for crime” in
your neighborhood? Examples?
Term Project
The purpose of the project is to apply the Routine
Activity Theory by analyzing the “chemistry for
crime” in your neighborhood.
Final paper should directly address this theory and
Felson’s work in the intro and discussion.
See “Term Paper Grading Criteria” for details on
what’s required/expected for each component of
the project/paper.
Next Class
Finish reading Crime & Everyday Life
Lecture will focus on Chapters 9-11 on
Environmental and Situational Crime
Prevention and the observation/data
collection strategies and recommendations
you should be thinking about as you
conduct your term project.