Monday, February 15, 2010

Dr. Chamard contributes to crime handbook and crime encyclopedia

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice Center faculty, is a contributing author on the subject of routine activity theory for two recent publications: The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Theory and the Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention. Routine activity theory is one of the "opportunity" theories of crime that attempts to explain the occurrence of crime events rather than the development of criminal propensity in individuals. It states that crime happens when a motivated offender and a suitable target converge in time and space in the absence of a capable guardian. The theory also examines broad changes in society and how these lead to changes in community life that create new opportunities for crime.