There have been many studies and various theories behind what motivates crime. One of the most prevalent to emerge in recent years is the “Routine Activity Theory”.

This claims that a crime needs 3 parts in co-existence to occur:

A criminal with the motivation to commit the crime

A target (the victim of crime)

A lack of effective guardianship (this can be seen as inadequate security or protection)

Routine Activity Theory focuses on individual criminal occurrences and is founded on the notion that anybody who is given the chance to do so may commit a crime.

An opportunity, a target, and the lack of a guardian are all factors that motivate someone to commit a crime like burglary. If you take away any of them, the crime will be impossible to commit. An actual person or something more abstract, such as a home security system or strongly bolted windows, might be the subject of guardianship. The criminal’s motive may influence how safe or dangerous the physical or perceived degree of guardianship is.

Routine Activity Theory has been chastised for limiting crime to environmental influences rather than human characteristics and socialisation. The moral compass of the criminal is matched with a deterrent that impacts the everyday behaviours that lead to crime. Individuals who have been trained to embrace conventional ideas, for example, would abstain from illegal activity even if criminal opportunity existed. In general, dread of the repercussions of being caught is a much more powerful ‘deterrent’ to crime than any penalties or criminal sentences, and this presents itself in terms of humiliation or embarrassment, or disappointing friends and loved ones, which is where “social connections” come into play.

Some studies also refer to friends’ influence as a facilitator of crime, social links can function as either an encouragement to or a buffer against the appeal of illicit activity. Naturally, any hypothesis that simplifies complicated human behaviour to a few factors is certain to be questioned and the reasons behind individuals’ criminal activity remains a much-studied and debated topic encompassing subjects ranging from genetics to the wider environment.

For homeowners, trying to prevent property crime is the key. Contact Ultimate Alarms today to protect your home in Glasgow or anywhere in central Scotland with a high quality remotely monitored alarm system and CCTV cameras from established security manufacturers such as Pyronix and Hikvision.