3 - Situational and environmental perspectives on crime (L3, Wilcox & Gialopsos, Ruiter)

Question 1

Where does traditional criminology focus on? (Wilcox)

Answer 1

Offenders.

Question 2

Where does crime-event criminology focusses on? (Wilcox)

Answer 2

Tries to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of crime events.
- Beyond someone inclined to commit an offence, there must be an opportunity to do so
- Some situations provide more opportunity than others

Question 3

What factors led scholars to theorize that certain demographic groups were more susceptible to victimization, and how did they link these factors to greater exposure to opportunities for victimization? (Wilcox)

Answer 3

Individuals that were most at risk of victimization were part of demographic groups that had lifestyles associated with greater environmental exposure to opportunity for victimization.

Question 4

Why was there an increase in offenses during the 1960s? (Wilcox)

Answer 4

There was a growing shift in daily activities from inside the home to public space, motivated offenders were provided with a greater supply of suiable targets.

Question 5

What is a multilevel opportunity perspective? (Wilcox)

Answer 5

looking at different factors all at once to understand how they work together to either increase or decrease the chance of a crime happening. we can figure out what situations make it easier or harder for crimes to occur. Studies various levels of analysis simultaneously in order to understand how embedded contexts work together to create more or less opportunity for crime.

Question 6

What are four critique points of crime-event criminology? (Wilcox)

Answer 6

1. Downplaying social problems: Some feel that crime event theories don’t focus enough on underlying social issues that might lead to crime.
2. Victim-Blaming: Some theories sound like they’re blaming victims for crimes, which can be unfair and unhelpful.
3. Superficial Solutions: Critics argue that strategies focused on reducing opportunities for crime are like putting band-aids on the problem. They don’t address the root causes of crime.
4. Conservatism: Some view opportunity-reducing strategies as conservative because they rely heavily on state-based control, which can limit personal freedom and independence.

Question 7

Despite the criticisms, why do the ideas of crime-event criminology will continue according to Wilcox & Gialapsos?

Answer 7

1. Technological Advancements: New technology helps us study when and where crimes happen, improving our understanding of crime patterns.
2. Public Focus: Crime-event criminology is practical and aligns with the field’s emphasis on public engagement, making it useful for real-world applications.
3. Not Conservative: Unlike some other approaches, crime-event criminology’s suggestions for policies and practices are not overly cautious or resistant to change.
4. Protecting Victims and Deterring Offenders: Strategies from crime-event criminology, like reducing opportunities for crime, can protect victims and discourage potential offenders from committing crimes.

Question 8

What are geographic and environmental criminologists interested in? (Ruiter)

Answer 8

In those choices that affect the spatial and temporal patterns in crime.

Question 9

Vul aan (Ruiter). Crime not only varies over space, but also …

Answer 9

in cyclic patterns at different scales of temporal resolution.

Question 10

What does the article of Ruiter discusses? (Ruiter)

Answer 10

How offenders decide where to commit crime, and stresses the importance of more research into temporal aspects of target choice. So, the uneven spatial patterns in crime from an offender decision-making perspective.

Question 11

What did Balbi and Guerry used in early 1800s to show that crimes were not uniformly distributed across different regions? (Ruiter)

Answer 11

Crime maps.

Question 12

Where is the environmental criminology field primarily concerned about? (Ruiter)

Answer 12

About the circumstances in which crimes occur - when and where, how, and against what targets or victims - it treats criminal motivation as a given.

Question 13

What does the Routine Activity Theory provide (RAT; Ruiter)

Answer 13

Provided a macro-level approach which posits that, when in the course of their daily routines, people who are motivated to commit crime converge with suitable victims or targets in the absence of capable guardians.

Question 14

Why does spatiotemporal crime clusters exist in the Routine Activity Theory? (Ruiter)

Answer 14

Because these convergence settings are not uniformly distributed over time and space.

Question 15

What is something the Routine Activity Theory can not account for? (Ruiter)

Answer 15

By emphasizing that crimes occur during the daily routines, it suggests that most crimes are opportunistic, and by this RAT can’t account for the goal-orientated behavior of many offenders.

Question 16

What does the Rational Choice Perspective provide (RCP; Ruiter)

Answer 16

Provides an informal rational choice theory for understanding offender behavior as goal-oriented decision making. Offenders are goal-orientaed and weigh their decisions on advantages and risks of the location/time of the crime.

Question 17

In what ways do offenders make a choice to perform certain behaviors, looking at Rational Choice Perspective? (Ruiter)

Answer 17

Weighing costs and benefits of different behavior alternatives, offenders would make those choices that are assumed to bring them closer to their goals. Important: when, where and how.

Question 18

What does the Crime Pattern Theory provide? (CPT; Ruiter)

Answer 18

Provides a comprehensive explanation of crime that combines insights from behavioral geography with the Rational Choice Perspective and Routine Activity Theory. offenders commit crimes where they also have their non-criminal routine activities. its about physical space.

Question 19

According to the Crime Pattern Theory, in what ways do offenders behave? (Ruiter)

Answer 19

Offenders search for suitable targets or victims at places that emit cues that fit their learned templates of the characteristics of a ‘good crime site’.

Question 20

What does the Crime Pattern Theory (CPT) states? (Ruiter)

Answer 20

Crime occurs at locations where attractive opportunities for crime overlap with awareness spaces of individuals motivated to commit crime.

Question 21

Which three approaches to study crime location choices were used before the discrete choice framework? (Ruiter)

Answer 21

1. Offender-based approach
2. Target-based approach
3. Mobility approach

Question 22

What does the Offender-based approach use to study crime location choices? (Ruiter)

Answer 22

Studies either the criminals or the crimes as the main focus. It looks at how far and in which direction criminals travel, considering the offender’s characteristics and the nature of the crime they commit.

Question 23

What does the Target-based approach use to study crime location choices? (Ruiter)

Answer 23

focuses on potential victims. It studies how the likelihood of being a victim varies based on the characteristics of the targets, such as their location, habits, or possessions.

Question 24

What does the Mobility approach use to study crime location choices? (Ruiter)

Answer 24

studies pairs of locations and how often crimes happen between them. It looks at the characteristics of both the starting point and the destination to understand the patterns of criminal activity.

Question 25

What does the Discrete choice framework provide? (DCF; Ruiter)

Answer 25

focuses on individual decision-making. It looks at how criminals choose specific target locations from a set of options. The main idea is to understand why and how an individual offender picks a particular target out of many possible choices.

Question 26

What are the four key elements to any choice situation of the Discrete choice framework (DCF; Ruiter)

Answer 26

1. Decision makers
2. Alternatives
3. Attributes
4. Decision rule

Question 27

What does the key element ‘Decision makers’ of the discrete choice framework mean? (Ruiter)

Answer 27

these are the agents who make the choice

Question 28

What does the key element ‘Alternatives’ of the discrete choice framework mean? (Ruiter)

Answer 28

Decision makers must choose one alternative from the choice set - a set of countable, mutually exclusive, and collectively exhaustive alternatives

Question 29

What does the key element ‘Attributes’ of the discrete choice framework mean? (Ruiter)

Answer 29

All alternatives have characteristics that affect the utility a decision maker would derive from choosing the alternative. The decision maker evaluates the utilities of all alternativers. All decision makers have characteristics that potentially also affect the utility they derive from these alternatives

Question 30

What does the key element ‘Decision rule’ of the discrete choice framework mean? (Ruiter)

Answer 30

The random utility maximization (RUM) theory predicts that decision makers choose the alternative from which they expect to derive maximum utility (gain, profit or satisfaction)

Question 31

How does the Discrete choice frameworks’ general decision rule translate? (Ruiter)

Answer 31

Translates in the prediction that offenders will target those areas where they expect to obtain highest rewards (RE) with least effort (EF) and minimal risk (RI).

Question 32

What do burglars prefer as a target selection/location, according to Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta’s research? (Ruiter)

Answer 32

Affluent neighborhoods, with many residential units, better accessible targets, less likely that they would be disturbed by the residents or other guardians.

Question 33

Why is the proximity effect stronger for juveniles than for adults? (Ruiter)

Answer 33

Proximity effect = targets closer to home.
Juveniles are more constrained in their mobility and have smaller awareness spaces.

Question 34

What are the results of the study from Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta? (Ruiter)

Answer 34

Burglars target areas that are closer to home (or where they used to live), have more residental units, have more signle-family dwellings, and are ethnically heterogeneous.

Question 35

What is a finding of a later study about solo offenders and their target location? (Ruiter)

Answer 35

Solo offenders were more likely to target their own neighborhoods compared to co-offending groups.

Question 36

Does barriers (e.g. travel in a city because of major roads and rivers) have an effect on the target area of burglars? (Ruiter)

Answer 36

Yes, they will less likely cross barriers when traveling to their burglary target area. Potential target areas that are connected by major rail tracks are more likely to be targeted. The barriers have stronger effects the closer they are to the burglars’ homes.

Question 37

In what ways do social barriers affect the choice of a location for a robbery? (Ruiter)

Answer 37

Social barriers would deter offenders from committing crimes in areas that are socially (economically, culturally, ethnically) different from the areas in which offenders live. They will more likely commit a robbery in which the majority of the population is of their own ethnic background.

Question 38

Robbers will choose a location based on social aspects. Why? (Ruiter)

Answer 38

1. They could spend more time in those areas and consequently also commit their robberies there.
2. They are less conspicuous in those areas, this limits the risk of being identified as a outsider.

Question 39

What does a distinction between marauders and commuters mean? (Ruiter)

Answer 39

Those who use the home base as a start of their crime journeys vs. those who commit crimes outside their home range.

Question 40

What does the marauder model best predicts? (Ruiter)

Answer 40

The crime locations of serial rapists.

Question 41

Does offenders return to previously targeted areas? (Ruiter)

Answer 41

Yes, offenders are very likely to return to areas of their previous offenses, especially when the time between a previous offense and a new one is short.

Question 42

What is the computational challenge with spatial units of analysis? (Ruiter)

Answer 42

Caused by the fact that the likelihood function needs to be computed for each offense- by alternative combination. Decreasing the size of the spatial unit of analysis increases the number of alternatives and thereby the computational complexity.

Question 43

What are the theoratical challenges with spatial units of analysis? (Ruiter)

Answer 43

1. Spatial spillover effect: the smaller the spatial units of analysis, the more likely it is that spatial spillover effects are in play
2. Core assumptions of RUM theory: the decision maker is assumed to have complete information about the alternatives, this is not possible

Question 44

What is life course criminality? (HC)

Answer 44

How to change motivations to commit crimes and the object of the study is offenders lives.

Question 45

What is environmental criminology? (HC)

Answer 45

The study of crime (events). We look how to reduce opportunities to commit crime, and the object of the study is places/situations.

Question 46

Where do life course explanations look at as explanatory factors? (HC)

Answer 46

Unemployment and/or delinquent friends as explanatory factors.

Question 47

Where do situational explanations often look at? (HC)

Answer 47

They look at crime as unstructured activities that might be elicited by peer pressure. Where, when and how was the crime committed.

Question 48

What is a difference between life course explanations and situational explanations? (HC)

Answer 48

Situational explanations are more specific. It takes e.g. 10 minutes to commit a crime, and lifelong will say ‘in 2023 X committed a crime’, situational explanations just looks at those 10 minutes.

Question 49

How do you look at crime from a situational viewpoint? (HC)

Answer 49

How was the moment when the crime was committed? Its different from times when someone did not offend. You break down the entire year in which someone committed into tiny timeslots and then look at how these timeslots differ in characteristics and what kinds of activities people did. Crime is a rare event.

Question 50

What are the three main perspectives of environmental criminology? (HC)

Answer 50

1. Routine activity theory
2. Rational choice theory
3. Crime pattern theory

Question 51

What is the Routine activity theory? (HC)

Answer 51

Assumes that crime happens when 1) motivated offenders converge in time and space 2) with suitable targets 3) in the absence of capable guardians.

Question 52

What is the Rational choice theory? (HC)

Answer 52

Posits that offenders are goal-orientated and weigh their decisions on whether to commit a crime on the basis of advantages and risks of the location and time.
- Abstract, applied to yes/no decision and target choice, situational crime prevention, costs and benefits

Question 53

What is the Crime pattern theory? (HC)

Answer 53

Integrates RAT and RCT. Emphasizes on offenders routines and opportunities for crime. Offenders commit crimes where they also have their noncriminal routine activities.
- Physcial space: youve know little about places youve never been

Question 54

What is the difference between rational choice theory and crime pattern theory? (HC)

Answer 54

The way you map (RAT is more random).

Question 55

What is geographic offender profiling? (HC)

Answer 55

Criminal investigation technique. You can make a model from known (linked) crime locations to anchor/starting point of the offender.

Question 56

What is predictive/hotspot policing? (HC)

Answer 56

Crime prevention technique. By knowing where crimes used to happen, you can predict where crimes will happen.

Question 57

What is the victim-orientated theory behind routine activity approach? (HC)

Answer 57

People move in time and space, and these patterns are rather predictable. The risk of victimization depends on where you go and what you do.

Question 58

What are routine activity patterns (lifestyle perspective; HC)

Answer 58

Dictate how much time people spend in high risk environments. Predicting victimization would be easier if you know: the routine activity patterns and the relative risk of activities/places.

Question 59

What is a space-time budget? (HC)

Answer 59

Kind of mapping what allows us to look at individuals behavior over a hour. We can look at where some activity (eg crime) happened. We can see whats special about this hour/place. Result: testing situational explanations of offending and victimization.

Question 60

Where does situational crime prevention look at? (HC)

Answer 60

• Crime, not criminality
• Events, not dispositions
• Near, not distant causes
• How crime happens, not why
• Situational and opportunities

Question 61

What is the security hypothesis? (HC)

Answer 61

Crime drop in advanced countries is due to change in quantity and quality of security.

Question 62

What is the crime substitution hypothesis? (HC)

Answer 62

Crime drop in advanced countries is due to change in the routines of youngsters, now more engaged with online activities instead of hanging out down the street.

Question 63

What are examples of physical barriers? (WG)

Answer 63

Things what make it more difficult to commit crime (CCTV, dog at home, busy roads)

Question 64

What are connectors? (WG)

Answer 64

Things what make it more easy to commit crime, e.g. people don’t lock their doors, stuff in pockets, transport network

Question 65

What are crime generators? (WG)

Answer 65

E.g. supermarket, uni, shops, libraries. Its daily, stealing at zelfscan, not directly a place where a lot of crime is committed. It generates crime, not intended to commit crime.

Question 66

What is a crime attractor? (WG)

Answer 66

E.g. known drugs area, were attracting criminals, drug users, much riskier area, attracts people who consume drugs and sell drugs. Its a place where crime will take place, attract people who are more likely to commit crime.