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Routine Activity Theory in Crime Investigation

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Abstract

Routine activity theory emphasizes the relevance of regular and routine behaviours for an understanding of crime patterns (Clarke & Felson, 1993). While the approach is most commonly used to explain aggregate trends and behaviours in society, it can also be employed to analyse individual-level behaviour in a crime investigation. By treating the time and place of a crime as clues and using what is known about the offence and victim, the routine activity crime equation may sometimes be manipulated to provide information about the offender.

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© 2015 D. Kim Rossmo and Lucia Summers

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Rossmo, D.K., Summers, L. (2015). Routine Activity Theory in Crime Investigation. In: Andresen, M.A., Farrell, G. (eds) The Criminal Act. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137391322_3

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