A Comparison Of Cohen And Felson's Routine Activity Theory
1966 Words8 Pages
Lawrence Cohen and Felson’s routine activity theory notes that this theory has been tested numerous times. The theory can be applied to all crimes, and in particular the crime of robbery. This paper will present Cohen and Felson’s routine activity theory as well as an article written by Elizabeth Groff, which tests the theory. In addition, this paper will present a policy, rooted in Cohen and Felson’s routine activity theory that aims to reduce the crime of robbery. However, before presenting the above-mentioned aspects, this paper will review the data relevant to the crime of robbery.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program defines robbery as the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person…show more content… Offenders look for specific targets to maximize their gain but lower the risk factor. The routine activities of an individual in their daily life such as working or leisure activities make them a suitable target for crime. For example, if an individual is seen leaving the bank, they are more likely to be a suitable target of robbery, which makes routine activity the best theory to be applied to this crime. Groff states that the assumptions of routine activity theory are operationalized and implemented in a model of street robbery events…show more content… Simulation modeling involves the creation of a simplified representation of a social phenomenon (Gilbert and Terna 1999). Groff seeks to prove two main hypotheses. “First, as the average time spent by civilians on activities away from the home increases, the aggregate rate of street robbery will increase. Second, as the average time spent by civilians on activities away from home increases, the spatial pattern of street robberies will change” (Groff, 2007, p.85) The first hypothesis tests the core assertion of routine activity theory, predicting that crime rates will increase as time spent away from home increases. The second hypothesis examines the longitudinal structure of street robbery locations by comparing the longitudinal pattern produced under each of five experimental