■ Crime opportunity theories. Another
explanation for neighborhood-level hot
spots comes from routine activity theory
and related theories that point to crime
opportunities as the principle cause of
crime. Rather than concentrations of
offenders or the absence of social controls,
opportunity theories suggest that
analysts should look for concentrations
of crime targets. For example, a dense
urban neighborhood with no off-street
parking will have many cars parked on
the street. Such an area may become an
area hot spot for thefts from vehicles. A
suburban subdivision inhabited by dualincome
families will have few people at
home during weekdays. Since their
property is unprotected, their neighborhood
can become an area burglary hot
spot. Note that in this type of situation,
several layers of hot spots can exist
simultaneously. Within area hot spots,
defined by the subdivision in this example,
might be streets with even greater
numbers of burglaries, and some of the
homes on these streets may be broken
into multiple times.