NCJ Number
163779
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 31-56
Date Published
1996
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The routine activities approach to explaining crime rates was studied through an analysis of the effects of two theoretically and empirically important scope conditions, economic development and gender, on arrest rates for minor theft.
Abstract
The research used pooled time-series analyses to estimate the effects of the three central concepts of routine activities on minor theft arrest rates in four separate equations: (1) men in developed countries, (2) women in developed countries, (3) men in less-developed countries, and (4) women in less-developed countries. The data came from international organizations and covered 52 countries over 1960-84. Results suggested that the explanatory power of the routine activities approach differs when the scope conditions of development and gender are applied. The routine activities approach appears to explain minor theft arrest rates most accurately for men in developed countries. In less-developed countries, none of the four routine activities indicators had a relationship with men's theft arrest rates. Two indicators, motivation and guardianship, had a relationship with women's minor theft rates. Findings indicated that the routine activities approach provides important insights into variations in crime rates and into policy initiatives appropriate for curtailing them. Tables, figure, and 67 references (Author abstract modified)