NCJ Number
102553
Date Published
1986
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A discussion of models that explain that chance of becoming a victim of personal crime in terms of lifestyle and daily routines accompanies a consideration of the policy implications of the models.
Abstract
The lifestyle model first appeared in a 1976 book by Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo. They defined lifestyle -- the daily vocational and leisure activities -- as determining the likelihood of personal victimization through the intervening variables of association and exposure. Lifestyle was viewed as the result of individual and group adaptations to structural constraints and role expectations. At about the same time, Cohen and Felson developed a similar model, the routine activity approach. They focused on personal crime as the convergence in space and time of three elements: motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. The models differ more in their authors' expositions than in their substance. The models have been criticized on the grounds that they are uninformative and trivial. The lifestyle model is also criticized for promoting ex post facto explanations. Nevertheless, many studies have generated findings consistent with the lifestyle models. They have also suggested the need to include factors like reactions to crime in a revised model. The model implies that public policies can affect lifestyles and risks of victimization through its influences on both role expectations and structural constraints. Figures, notes, and 28 references.