Criminology

Criminal pattern theory is based on the interaction of offenders and victims based on the environment in which they find themselves in. For a crime to occur, there must be an overlap of the action space of the victim and the offender. The action space is the place in which the victim does the day to day activities such as the work place, the shopping mall, recreational centers like movie theatres, restaurants which can be considered high risk areas because a lot of people interact within this space which can give offenders an opportunity to satisfy their emotions if an effective guardian is not present.

The most important consideration taken into account in the theory is the action space of the victim and the offender in that they must overlap for it to occur. For instance when one has gone to job and no one is left at home, this provides an opportunity for an offender to break into the home and steal, and also when one leaves treasures in a car in a public parking area, this increases chances of an offence being committed. By changing the way we conduct our daily activity it can help reduce the crime rate such as getting nannies to take care of our homes while away at work and also taking valuables when moving away from our cars.

Crime pattern theory is important as it helps us avoid some of the crimes that are caused because of opportunities brought about by our day to day practices. Experience can help prevent future crimes through change of behavior brought about by previous crimes. This theory considers all the conditions that can lead to occurrence of crime and helps individuals to avoid crime and it is entirely relevant to aid in crime reduction.