Criminal Circumstance (New Lines in Criminology)

The main objective of this volume is to propose an alternative theory of criminal opportunity. The theory builds upon earlier social disorganization and routine activities theories and takes into account recent developments regarding criminal opportunity to extend the notion of opportunity farther. The authors’ starting point is the recognition that both individual and environmental factors across time affects criminal acts. Their basic premise, grounded in the importance of the individual-environmental-temporal nexus, is that criminal acts must be explained in terms of criminal opportunity contexts. Criminal Circumstance contributes to the further development of criminal opportunity theory by addressing focal areas involving theory, methodology, empirical research, and policy. Its main objective is to propose an alternative theory of criminal opportunity. That theory builds upon earlier social disorganization and routine activities theories, and takes into account recent developments regarding criminal opportunity, to farther extend the notion of opportunity. The authors’ starting point is the recognition that both individual and environmental factors across time impact upon criminal acts. Their basic premise, grounded in the importance of the individual-environmental-temporal nexus, is that criminal acts must be explained in terms of criminal opportunity contexts. CONTENTS List of Figures • List of Tables • Acknowledgments • Preface • 1 Theory Generally and a General Theory of Crime: Some Preliminary Considerations • 2 Criminal Opportunity: A Necessary Condition and Central Construct • 3 A Multicontextual Approach • 4 Evidence and Specification of Main Effects • 5 Evidence and Specification of Moderating Effects • 6 Implications for Reactions to Crime • 7 A Dynamic Perspective • 8 Possibilities and Limitations for Empirical Research • 9 Implications for Policy and Practice • References • Index