Abstract
ObjectiveWe present a first test using a smartphone time use survey app for whether the risk of criminal victimization is higher while traveling than during other activities, and assess risk heterogeneity between public transport, private transport by car, and private open-air transport.MethodsA sample of 1334 young adults completed a time-use survey on their smartphones with additional items on criminal victimization. Participants reported their time use and victimization experiences (vandalism, theft, threat, or assault) per 10-min timeslot for 4 days. To prevent potential confounders from affecting the results, we analyzed the data with a fixed effects logit model that exclusively relies on within-person variation between timeslots.FindingsA total of 78 victimization situations were reported by 45 participants. Although these numbers are too low to draw definitive conclusions, with respect to the four types of victimization measured, sleeping appeared to be the safest activity. The risk of victimization was considerably larger during travel, but also during many other activities. We found shopping to be the activity with the highest risk of victimization. No victimization was observed during private transport by car, but the risk of victimization was significantly higher in private open-air and public transport than during sleep.ConclusionUsing a state-of-the-art instrument and a rigorous statistical design, we tentatively conclude that the risk of criminal victimization is not higher during travel than during most other activities, only sleeping is safer. Larger samples are needed to assess the robustness of our findings. We discuss practical implications, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and new research challenges.
Highlights
Travel has been associated with a heightened risk of criminal victimization (Lemieux and Felson 2012; Levine and Wachs 1986a; Newton and Ceccato 2015)
Using a state-of-the-art instrument and a rigorous statistical design, we tentatively conclude that the risk of criminal victimization is not higher during travel than during most other activities, only sleeping is safer
This paper presents the results of a first smartphone time use survey aimed at assessing whether claims of heightened victimization risk during travel are justified
Summary
Travel has been associated with a heightened risk of criminal victimization (Lemieux and Felson 2012; Levine and Wachs 1986a; Newton and Ceccato 2015). The two main theories of victimization are routine activity theory (Cohen and Felson 1979) and lifestyle theory (Hindelang et al 1978). Both theories postulate that criminal victimization is a function of the activities that potential victims engage in and the settings that they are exposed to, and both theories share a focus on proximate causes of victimization. Proximate causes are those events that occur close in space and time to victimization. Both theories emphasize the situational characteristics that differentiate victimization from non-victimization rather than the personal characteristics that differentiate victims from non-victims
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