The distribution of crime and crime trends
An article by Groff, Weisburd, and Yang (2010) suggests a need to examine the distribution of crime and crime trends at a micro-level. Over the past few years, scholars have been studying crime trends and distribution and have established that crime concentration in micro-location is stable over time. However, this trend varies from one unit of the micro-location to another. For instance, crime concentration in two blocks in the same street may vary distinctively. Modern technology changed the idea of place whereby a place can be partitioned into very fine partitions allowing longitudinal and crossectional studies of crime. This longitudinal and crossectional studies reveal that it is essential to examine crime trends at a local micro level.
Criminological Theories
Routine activity Theory
Routine activity theory is a theory developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson, which can explain the incumbent crime trends (de Melo, Pereira, Andresen, & Matias, 2018). The theory argues that for predatory crimes to occur, three conditions must be satisfied. The three variables are; a suitable target, absence of capable guardians, and motivated offenders. The theory illustrates that the presence of these conditions drives a would-be offender to commit a crime against the assessed victim. Reasonably, Groff, Weisburd, and Yang (2010) argue that crime is specific to a microenvironment whereby one block may be prone to crime. Routine activity theory explains this crime trend by arguing that some neighborhoods are susceptible to crime since they satisfy the abovementioned conditions.
Crime Pattern Theory
The central argument of a Crime Pattern theory explains the current crime trends. Paul and Patricia Brantingham (1984) argue that geography is critical resonation during the thought process of committing a crime. Most crimes are committed in areas where the offenders undertake regular activities such as shopping, socialization, and work. Offenders tend to commit crimes in familiar areas. Therefore, the city structure and public transport influence crime trends. For instance, not all blocks experience a high crime rate in neighborhoods labeled as crime-prone zones. Offenders develop a mental visualization of an area’s geography as they move from one node to another. The mental visualization becomes entangled in the offender’s awareness space. Therefore, current crime trends stem from the geography of the microenvironment.
Classical school of crime causation
Classical schools of crime causation argue that human beings have free will and choose to engage in crime (Kratcoski, Kratcoski, & Kratcoski, 2020). Reasonably, most criminals are not coerced; they undertake the crime following a thought process. This fundamental principle would address current crime trends by instituting social policing to ensure that crime is deterred. Similarly, human beings seek pleasure over pain. Therefore, crime trends stem from the desire to avoid pain. Current crime trends can be addressed by minimizing risk factors that cause stress or strain. For instance, poor economic conditions in some cases lead to a high crime rate; the crime rate can thus be reduced from implementing policies that will minimize the effects of poverty (Kratcoski, Kratcoski, & Kratcoski, 2020). Similarly, instituting fair punishment can also reduce crime since people tend to avoid pain. Therefore, the principle of punishment, as illustrated in the classical school of crime causation, can be used to address the current crime trends.