NCJ Number
212383
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 407-427
Date Published
October 2005
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the extent to which routine activity theory, as developed by Marcus Felson and others, can be applied to both the computer domain ("cyber" world) and other domains of human interaction and activity ("terrestrial" world).
Abstract
The paper first addresses some of the issues related to definitions and classifications involved in attempts to conceptualize cybercrime as a distinct form of criminal activity. The author then explains the features of routine activity theory used in this paper, reflecting on some of the issues usually addressed in the theory's application to crime causes. The author notes that routine activity theorists view human activity as consisting of various degrees of opportunity and incentives to commit different types of crime depending on a person's customary activities and where they occur. The paper then examines cybercrime in relation to the general ecological presuppositions of routine activity theory, focusing on whether the theory's dependence on the convergence of time and place as crime causes can be applied to online or "cyber" environments. The author then discusses the extent to which cybercrimes might be viewed as continuous with "terrestrial" crimes. He argues that although the core concepts of routine activity theory can be applied or adapted to cybercrimes, there are some qualitative differences between the worlds of cybercrime and "terrestrial" crime that obstruct the wholesale application of routine activity theory to both domains; for example, whereas time and space in the "terrestrial" world are relatively fixed and ordered configurations, cyber-spatial environments are essentially different in terms of their configurations and the manipulations required to achieve criminal victimizations. 51 references