Ever look at crime and question if there is a specific pattern to how crime occurs? Thanks to past records and recent technology we can see that there are specific patterns in crime based on different variables. These variables can vary between the day of the week, time of day, weather patterns, and even the holidays just to name a few. The types of crimes can also change with the variables themselves. For example, violent and property crimes were significantly related to major holidays (Cohn, & Rotton, 2003). Crime can also change based on the weather and the time of year. During the summer months there seems to be an increase in crime when routine activities are mostly outside and then a decrease once those routine activities are less outside
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Based on this criminal activity may be divided into two categories based on motivation: expressive crime and instrumental crime (Cohn & Rotton, 2003). Expressive crime is sometimes termed affective aggression which involves violence that is not directed at anything tangible or designed to accomplish anything specific other than the violent outcome itself (ex. assaults, disorders, and domestic violence). Instrumental crime involves behavior that has a specific goal (ex. Predatory crimes, such as theft, burglary, and robbery) (Cohn & Rotton, 2003). Many major holidays bring family members into close and sometimes intense proximity this can be the concatenation of motivated offenders and suitable victims that may increase the opportunities for expressive crimes between family members and acquaintances. On that other hand during major holidays there may be a fewer opportunities for instrumental crimes, because of the decreased number of suitable targets and the increased presence of capable guardians (Cohn & Rotton, …show more content…
With all the data people have researched and coming up with these crime patterns; I think most police agencies know about them and are acting on them. Spreading the word about these patterns and letting the public know about them will help people be more aware of situations they may get caught in and how to act on them. This will help spread awareness of when crime will be heaviest and when it’s at it’s low. This could possibly help lower crime rates because there could be less people in the crosshairs of a criminal
Based on this criminal activity may be divided into two categories based on motivation: expressive crime and instrumental crime (Cohn & Rotton, 2003). Expressive crime is sometimes termed affective aggression which involves violence that is not directed at anything tangible or designed to accomplish anything specific other than the violent outcome itself (ex. assaults, disorders, and domestic violence). Instrumental crime involves behavior that has a specific goal (ex. Predatory crimes, such as theft, burglary, and robbery) (Cohn & Rotton, 2003). Many major holidays bring family members into close and sometimes intense proximity this can be the concatenation of motivated offenders and suitable victims that may increase the opportunities for expressive crimes between family members and acquaintances. On that other hand during major holidays there may be a fewer opportunities for instrumental crimes, because of the decreased number of suitable targets and the increased presence of capable guardians (Cohn & Rotton, …show more content…
With all the data people have researched and coming up with these crime patterns; I think most police agencies know about them and are acting on them. Spreading the word about these patterns and letting the public know about them will help people be more aware of situations they may get caught in and how to act on them. This will help spread awareness of when crime will be heaviest and when it’s at it’s low. This could possibly help lower crime rates because there could be less people in the crosshairs of a criminal