Property Crime and the Routine Activities of Individuals

Abstract

The risk of property crime victimization is examined from a routine activities approach using data from six neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia. Indicators of the concepts of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and capable guardians are identified, and their individual and combined explanatory power are examined. The findings reveal that measures of neighborhood crime and housing type are the only variables that consistently relate to victimization in the hypothesized direction; employment status is the only guardianship measure that has the predicted effect on victimization. The analyses provide limited support for the routine activities approach, but are also consistent with hypotheses derived from other theoretical perspectives on criminal victimizations.