Posted: February 1st, 2022

Routine Activity Theory in Juvenile Delinquency

Routine Activity Theory in Retail Theft and Home Burglary
Juvenile delinquency can be described as the act of committing a crime at a very young age. Juvenile delinquency is supported by a variety of enablers within the social value system that, in turn, affect how a person conceptually chooses to associate with the environment around them. In America, juvenile delinquency continues to manifest within the teenage population. Yu (2013) identifies that it continues to be an enduring phenomenon in the United States, rising and falling from one year to another, as seen through arrest records and general crime statistics. This is despite the improved standards of living. Presenting a fascinating sociological paradox for researchers and academicians. According to Yu (2013), many young people’s initial years of their lives play a critical role in how they conceptualize their world. As such, more emphasis needs to be made into how individuals perceive crime.
In 2017, Kenneth A White was travelling in a truck after work. At the same time, four juveniles from Michigan, Mark Sekelsky, Alexander Miller, Trevor Gray and McKayden Payne, threw rocks to from an overpass on to an underpass on a highway. The resulting controversy saw a heavy rock, travelling at 70n miles per hour enter a windshield, and fatally injure 32-year-old Kenneth White. The rock entered the passenger side, and ricochet from White’s face into his chest creating a crater and fatally injuring him to his death. The teenager aware that they killed somebody through their later sarcastically communicated on Snapchat, texting LOL, HAHA and LMAO, in reference to the news that they had murdered White. In the court excerpt, an orator read the teenager’s excerpt, which stated that “’We could possibly go to prison for life from this,” He read from the messages in court. “You guys knew what could’ve happened. And, if we do get caught — which we won’t — it’s our own fault. LOL. We gotta take our punishment. Lay low for a while and everything will be fine.’” Clearly showing that they were fully aware of the repercussions. Their action perfectly fit the routine activity theory. The following excerots investigates the routine theory elements that supported the crime.
A criminal justice theory that works well to support juvenile delinquency’s perpetual existence, especially in an advanced society such as the United States, is the Routine Activity Theory, from Cohen and Felson. Routine Activity Theory identifies that crime occurs or has the potential to occur and continue recurring when three critical elements converge. These elements include; a motivated offender, a suitable target, and lastly, the absence of a capable guardian (Purpura, 2013). With a focus on the murder crimes, this theory allows a researcher to see how the potential factors converged and propagate criminal attitudes among the four juveniles and shape them to become murderers.
The routine “activity approach to criminal activity analysis focuses on the environment that allows the criminal and the crime to manifest. Purpura (2013) indicates that it considers the offender’s actions and the victims that allow the crime to materialize. According to Agustina and Felson (2015), it is essential to analyze youth convergence since crime peaks at adolescence. Crime is concentrated across space and time. Crime occurs as a result of peer pressure (co-offenders are a high characteristic of juvenile crime). Finally, in the absence of adult supervision, youths who spend time alone tend to commit more crimes. Mohammad, Nooraini, and Hussin (2018) show that a guardian’s role for youths is very immediate at a particular time and space. In this case, the guardian acts as a person who controls or gives better insight and reason to the teen not to commit the crime by offering a rational choice.
The juvenile offender is a critical factor that should be considered. Motivation among offenders is brought about by a pull factor that manifests in a “youth hangout”. Youth hangout is defined as a place where activity recurrence is frequent, has a magnetic effect, and has zero considerable adult supervision (Mohammad, Nooraini and Hussin 2018). It has the power to shape motivation within an offender due to its nature and time. It can be after school (time) and at a mall or neighborhood or secluded spot (space) where adult supervision is rare. The social organization allows a recurrent activity to manifest. In this case, Agustina and Felson (2015) define a motivated offender as a person who is adept at committing a crime and is willing to do so. The motivated offender, is a person, in a company of people who is more likely to be persuaded to commit a crime at a specific time. If there is a lack of a guardian, there is a higher possibility of the crime occurring. Purpura (2013) identifies that the victims’ recurring activity raises awareness over time.
This may include a victims’ schedule that coincides with space and time in which the juvenile meets. For example, when a person is repeatedly leaving their unguarded house at the same time when a group of neighborhood potential offenders is meeting in front of his house after school, there is a higher likelihood that with the lack of supervision and suitable unguarded house, motivation to offend manifests and leads to a crime.
References
Agustina, J. R., & Felsonsss, M. (2015). Routine activities, delinquency, and youth convergences. The Handbook of Criminological Theory, 137-155. doi: 10.1002/9781118512449.ch8
Mohammad, T., Nooraini, I., & Hussin, N. A. (2018). Operationalizing routine activity theory in juvenile delinquency: A social work perspective. International Social Work, 63(2), 220-231. doi:10.1177/0020872818796134
Purpura, P. (2013). Foundations of Security and Loss Prevention. In Security and loss prevention: An introduction (6th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.
Yu, T. (2013). Tackling the juvenile delinquency | Root causes of juvenile delinquency | family-based early intervention. Retrieved from https://www.ebpsociety.org/blog/education/378-root-causes-of-juvenile-delinquencyx

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